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American Morning

9/11 Pentagon Attack; Trouble With GOP Base?; Gas Station Blues?; Minding Your Business

Aired May 17, 2006 - 07:30   ET

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

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Checking our top story this is morning.
President Bush signs that big $70 billion tax cut package today. Among its provisions, extending a tax break benefiting investors and one helping upper middle income families. The alternative minimum tax.

The leader of the minutemen border patrol group says that they're going to build a fence on private land along the U.S.-Mexico border.

And word out of London today that Sir Paul McCartney and his wife of several years, Heather Mills, reportedly are planning to separate. They two married in 2002 and have a daughter together.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

ROBERTS: And I'm John Roberts in for Miles O'Brien.

You know, there are some people who might not be surprised about that separation thinking that . . .

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: A celebrity couple separating?

ROBERTS: I know, it never happens.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Shocked.

ROBERTS: Just thinking in that particular case the two of them weren't exactly made for each other.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I'm shocked. Utterly shocked, John.

ROBERTS: I am. To think that it could ever happen.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: We've got some new video to show you from the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. It comes from cameras at the Pentagon security check points. Really hard to see the plane. It's, you know, barely a little white line on the right side of your screen there but you can see the fire ball that happens upon impact. Let's get right to CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr.

Hey, Barbara, good morning to you. Why these pictures now?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Soledad, these pictures from a surveillance camera, are here in the Pentagon parking lot, had been sealed by a court during the trial of the 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui. But of course now with that proceeding complete, the Justice Department went ahead and responded to a Freedom of Information Act request and a lawsuit by a public interest group known as Judicial Watch. They had pursued getting these tapes and yesterday the Justice Department and the Bush administration went ahead and released them.

Now some of this tape had been seen previously back in 2002, but there are a couple of extra frames now, especially that one that shows that little white nose tip coming into the frame, moving very quickly, then the almost immediate impact. And people are watching this very closely, as we say frame by frame, because it's a real first photographic evidence of seeing the actual airframe of American Airlines Flight 77 as it struck this building.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Barbara, let me ask you a question. As you well know, there's a whole conspiracy theory thing that says, in fact, it wasn't a plane that flew into the Pentagon, it was a missile and that the plane was shot down. Do you think that this videotape, which is very similar, frankly, to the still pictures that we've seen before, but do you think the videotape, you know, sort of makes those conspiracy theorists now change their story?

STARR: Well, you know, that's a really tough one because conspiracy theorists tend to believe what they believe. But you're absolutely right, since that day almost five years ago there's been an awful lot of Internet chatter, chatter amongst the conspiracy theory groups that perhaps it was a missile that struck this building and that that was covered up by the federal government. There simply has never been any indication of truth. The 9/11 Commission addressed that question. It was indeed the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 that struck this building, killing 184 people both on the plane and inside this building.

Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us. Barbara, thanks.

STARR: Sure.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: John.

ROBERTS: Happening in America this morning.

The marathon Enron case could go to the jury today. Former executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling are charged with fraud and conspiracy in connection with the collapse of the giant energy company. They deny any wrongdoing. The trial is now in its 14th week.

A killer alligator is still on the loose around Ocala, Florida. Hunters are having no luck so far even after setting traps for it. The alligator killed a 23-year-old woman on Sunday. Three people have been killed in gator attacks in Florida over the past week. Freedom now for a man falsely convicted of a murder a decade ago. Douglas Warney, who was in failing health, was cleared by new DNA tests. Those tests, instead, identified an inmate who was serving time for another murder. That man has confessed. Warney's attorney may bring charges against prosecutor who fought the new DNA testing in the court for the past two years.

And a very different reality now for former survivor Richard Hatch. A judge sentenced Hatch to more than four years in prison for tax evasion for not paying taxes on, among other things, his $1 million prize that he won in the "Survivor" contest. Hatch claimed that he thought that show producers would pay his taxes. Yes, just like they do with the lottery.

And whoever would have thought that a bra could save a life? Someone shot a Florida woman through her car's windshield but the bullet was stopped by her seatbelt and padded bra strap. The bullet just fell into her lap. Police arrested two men but still don't know why they fired at the woman's car. I guess by the time it made it through the windshield, the seat belt and the bra strap it was out of energy.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: That's some bra strap she's got going on. That's the weirdest story of the day.

ROBERTS: Wow. What do they say about bulletproof brassieres?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: What do they say? I don't know.

Weather now.

ROBERTS: I used to talk about that when I was a kid.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I think they call it a wonder bra.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, that's it.

ROBERTS: Exactly. There you go.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROBERTS: President Bush's ratings are slipping to new lows. There's unhappiness among Republicans. What could it mean for the upcoming congressional elections? Here's Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Inside a Holiday Inn meeting room, just outside Pittsburgh, a revolt brews.

ANDY DLINN, PENNSYLVANIA REPUBLICAN ASSEMBLY: Ask yourself, why are you a Republican? Do you even know?

CROWLEY: They are emblematic of the biggest threat to Republican majority status on Capitol Hill -- conservative Republicans, or as they sometimes call themselves, the Republican wing of the Republican Party.

PAT TOOMEY, (R) FORMER REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN: Well it's pretty clear that at some level Republicans in Washington have lost their way.

CROWLEY: What's the problem here? Let them count the ways.

RAY HORVATH, PENNSYLVANIA CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST: They're acting like Democrats.

CROWLEY: A prescription drug plan for seniors they see as a big read that costly entitlement program. And money.

HENRY JACKSON, PENNSYLVANIA REPUBLICAN VOTER: They just don't find anything in Washington not worth spending money on.

CROWLEY: An influx of illegal aliens. Also money.

RICHARD ENGLE, NATIONAL FEDERATION OF REPUBLICAN ASSEMBLIES: We're spending more in every various social program. The very programs those Republicans voted against creating when they were in the minority they're now spending more than the Democrats wanted to spend.

CROWLEY: Conservatives are churning out books and filling up magazines. April's "The American Spectator" offered a litany of woes -- foreign policy and also money. "Don't be surprised," one article warned, "if Hillary Clinton wins the White House in 2008 running to the right of Republicans on fiscal responsibility."

HORVATH: The lesser of two evils is still evil. If the only way that the Republicans are going to learn is to lose, then they're going to have to lose. I'm hard core.

CROWLEY: Conservatives are the most active of Republicans. They make calls.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This call is paid for by Bush-Cheney '04.

CROWLEY: Put up signs, lick envelopes, knock on doors.

JAMES GARTNER, PENNSYLVANIA REPUBLICAN VOTER: My excitement level heading into the election at this time is probably could best be described as low.

CROWLEY: Low excitement can mean no callers, no door knockers, no help. Consider that many in this Pittsburgh meeting believe Pennsylvania Senator Rick Sanatorium hasn't supported state conservatives or their goals.

GARTNER: They pull the curtain. Sure, they might vote for him. But the real question is, whether or not they're going to lift a finger and they're going to work for him. CROWLEY: Which is to say the biggest threat to Republicans this year is not angry Democrats showing up at the polls, but angry Republicans staying at home and sitting on their hands.

Here in Washington, message received loud and clear. The president has promised to send National Guard to help protect the border and congressional Republicans say they will come up with a spending bill no larger than the one the president proposed. It is either a step in the right direction or too little to late.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: You know yesterday I was talking with a well-known Republican with close ties to the White House just about the immigration speech and he figures that for conservatives it's a net loss. So more bad news.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, the speech itself did nothing?

ROBERTS: More bad news. And the plan, yes, more bad news for the president.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes. Oh, it's going to be a potentially ugly six months, I think, for the Republicans as they head toward the midterm elections.

ROBERTS: How low can it go?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: That could be the big question.

Big oil companies might be making record profits, but not gas station owners. We're going to take a look at why business for them is tougher than ever.

ROBERTS: Also ahead, where are America's angriest drivers? We'll tell you which city has got the worst road rage.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Then later, Marie Osmond versus Tom Cruise. Who do you think won? They were on "Larry King Live." That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: We're looking at live pictures from Atlanta. Traffic camera there.

ROBERTS: How many drivers do you think are hot blooded there this morning? Apparently not as many as in some other cities in America.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes.

ROBERTS: Atlanta, southern charm, one of the more courteous cities for driving in America. SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: How come none of that southern charm in Miami? Sunny Miami.

ROBERTS: Yes. Well, you know, because the further south you go, you know, Hotlanta is hot. Miami is just steamy. And apparently the drivers there are, too.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, not so sunny tempers at least in Miami. Many drivers actually chose themselves as the worst in the country. That's according to a new survey from the -- that's a terrible thing.

ROBERTS: Do you think they chose themselves?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Auto club survey road rage. Phoenix was second worst. New York, L.A. and Boston all in the top five. Atlanta, Minneapolis, also viewed as among the most courteous of 20 cities surveyed.

ROBERTS: Wow. But courteous is always . . .

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Please, merge into my lane. Please.

ROBERTS: Yes, exactly. Please, hit my car.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: No, no, you first. That's all (ph). Don't worry about it. It's just a dent. My insurance will cover it.

ROBERTS: It's like that commercial, you know, hey, I'm gellin'. Are you gellin'?

I'll tell you, I mean courtesy is all a relative thing, of course.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, it is.

ROBERTS: Gas prices are certainly making many drivers grump. Here's the latest CNN gas gauge for you this morning. The national average $2.93 a gallon for unleaded regular. A month ago it was $2.78. And a year ago, $2.16. And when I was growing up, it was 49.9, but that was a century ago. Boy, looking at those numbers, two- wheeled . . .

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You've got to say, dating ones self aren't we today?

ROBERTS: Back in the days of the dinosaur.

Two-wheeled transportation starting to look pretty good these days, isn't it? In fact, the National Bicycle Dealers Association says that sales are way up. And did you also know there's a National Bike To Work Week? Great time to give it a shot.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: And yet it's so dark and so cold in the morning when we come in.

ROBERTS: Exactly. I mean, why would you want to be riding a bicycle that time of day?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Exactly.

ROBERTS: Yes.

High gas prices may have you fuming, but gas station owners say they're not profiting from your pain and some say they are getting out of the business altogether. Gosh, you think it would be a gold mine. CNN's Allan Chernoff has got that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Don Keiser now jacks up cars rather than jacking up prices at the pump. He recently walked away from a Shell station he had leased for 10 years to open a repair shop across town in Hawthorne, New Jersey, where the only gas pump is a decorative one.

DON KEISER, FORMER GAS STATION OWNER: The profit margin's not there.

CHERNOFF: You can't survive owning one station?

KEISER: Nope.

CHERNOFF: No profit in it?

KEISER: No profit in gasoline.

CHERNOFF: Don says expenses and credit card fees eat up the few pennies of profit on regular grade gasoline.

KEISER: You will not make money on gas. You have to make something else in your facility, location, to make it profitable for you.

CHERNOFF: For Don that something else was repairs. Working 70 hours a week, Don says he used to earn about $50,000 a year. Now, without selling gas, he says his earnings have nearly doubled and his hours are shortly.

Sounds like selling gas is just a pain in the neck.

KEISER: Yes, you're getting the picture. It was. It's a big burden.

CHERNOFF: At Don's old location, Shell has approved digging up the gas tanks.

Gas retailing may not have been all that profitable for Don Keiser, but it certainly does pay for the major oil companies. There are 13,000 Shell stations around the nation. The company doesn't reveal exactly how much they contribute to earnings, but they certainly did add to profit last year of $26 billion.

In contrast, station owner haves to pay oil companies more for their supplies when the cost of gas rises. And when a fill-up runs $60 or more, many drivers buy fewer snacks and less coffee.

DON GILLIGAN, PETROLEUM MARKETERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA: You're going to see an ongoing decline of what we call the mom and pop gasoline stations in America. The small, independent operator.

CHERNOFF: Gilligan says the number of retailers quitting the gas business is on the rise, about 1,000 last year. Small business people like Don Keiser who is happier paying up for gasoline like the rest of us than charging those sky high prices at the pump.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, Hawthorne, New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: And here's one for you not to miss. Coming up right after the break, Marie Osmond gets hot and heavy on Tom Cruise. That's going to be a good one. I can't wait.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Well, with all the talk these days of data ming, phone numbers and wiretapping by the NSA, it's good to have some good news about the phone company this morning in the long distance race.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Carrie's got it.

LEE: An upbeat story here. Bottom line, it's getting cheaper and simpler to make long distance and international calls. The latest here from Cablevision rolling out a couple of new plans, including a flat 4 cent a minute rate. Also a plan for 19.95 a month gives you 500 minutes worth of calls to anywhere in the world.

So you can thank Internet telephony. You can thank companies for bundling phone and cable services. All of this means more competition, which bottom line means lower prices. Good for consumers. All the cable companies saw great Q1 in part because of the phone services that they're offering. So good news for folks here.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yeah. We certainly appreciate that this morning.

LEE: Yes, $20 a month.

Now on to our fun story of the day. Well, not that that one wasn't fun, but this one is even more fun. The MTA considering putting advertisements in subway tunnels. Now you know when you're on a subway -- I don't know if you guys ride the subway regularly.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes.

LEE: Really a captive audience. Take a look here. This is an ad for Target that is currently running on the path train to New Jersey. The MTA is going to test out the idea as early as this summer and see if it makes sense. It will, obviously, give them some extra revenue.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: How does the technology work? I mean what are they -- are they -- where . . .

LEE: It's almost like the old flip books, you know, the old cartoons.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, these are still ads that you're driving by? I see.

LEE: Exactly. So these are actually on the tunnel.

ROBERTS: Stills that turn into animation as you go by.

LEE: And when you go by, it's a bunch of different screens and it looks like it's moving.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Looking at New Yorkers, very distressed.

LEE: People distressed. You know, people, New Yorkers, typically zone out on the subway. Well, they're not going to be able to do that if this takes place.

ROBERTS: I'll tell you, that looks like it's enough to put you into an epileptic seizure.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes.

LEE: I think it would be a little jarring if, let's say we're facing each other on the subway. The ad is behind you. I'm looking at it and you think I'm looking at you but I'm not and -- I don't know. I think it's . . .

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Everybody looks down anyway.

LEE: Not everyone is going to like this idea, that's for sure.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I think it's kind of neat.

ROBERTS: God forbid I should look at you on the subway.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Exactly. Don't do that.

LEE: Read the book. Don't look at anyone.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Thanks, Carrie.

Did you see this? Marie Osmond. Marie Osmond. Marie Osmond taking on Tom Cruise. They were talking about postpartum depression. She and her brother Donny appeared last night on "Larry King Live." Marie criticized Tom for his comments that he made about treating postpartum depression which she, of course as you'll recall, suffered. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARIE OSMOND, ENTERTAINER: I know that Tom Cruise does his own stunt work and things like that. If he has postpartum, believe me, he would call in a body double because it is intense. And I think I have made the comment before that unless you've been through something like that, you can't even go there.

DONNY OSMOND, ENTERTAINER: You can't judge anybody by it.

MARIE OSMOND: I mean he has no clue. When he becomes a female and has a child and postpartum, then I'll listen to his comments.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Well, other women said that, too. It's like, ah, and how many children did you have, Tom? I can't remember. Did you give birth to? Anyway, just last month, Tom Cruise's girlfriend, Katie Holmes, gave birth to a little girl. It's the couple's first child. No word on if she ever had postpartum either.

Just a reminder, you can catch "Larry King Live" every night 9:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

A short break. AMERICAN MORNING's back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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