Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Weather Interferes With Climber Rescue Mission; Rail Rules; Unrest in Gaza
Aired December 15, 2006 - 07:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Change of the guard. Farewell ceremonies today for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, as the Army's top general warns the Army's at a breaking point.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, newfound hope. Fewer women are being diagnosed with breast cancer, and doctors think they know why. We'll talk to Sanjay straight ahead.
M. O'BRIEN: And the race against time. The search for those missing climbers being pushed off course by 100-mile-an-hour winds on this AMERICAN MORNING.
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. It's Friday, December 15th.
I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien.
We're glad you're with us.
At Oregon's highest peak, discouraging news in that search for those missing climbers. Authorities there now saying those cell phone signals that appeared to be coming from one of the men may not be beacons of hope after all.
Meanwhile, a wall of wicked weather once again stymieing the research -- or the rescue effort, I should say.
CNN's Chris Lawrence reports from the base of Mt. Hood in Oregon -- Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, it's just been one obstacle after another for the rescue teams. At the higher elevations, that wind is gusting up to 100 miles per hour. That's like standing in the middle of a hurricane on top of a freezing cold icy mountain. And the rescue teams say the weather is like a brick wall that just prevents them from getting any higher.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANK JAMES, KELLY JAMES' BROTHER: It's hard. And I'm not going to pretend that it's not. There are tears. We are holding each other -- holding each other up. We've gathered together for prayer.
These are strong people. I've said this before. These are three very strong men, very experienced climbers. But they come from very good stock, and the families are strong, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: Yes, the families were obviously very encouraged and hopeful when they heard about that ping from Kelly James' cell phone. He is the climber that is believed to be still at about 10,000 feet elevation.
Now, the family was hopeful, but the sheriff's department said it is more likely that that cell phone ping was just a battery dying or perhaps a roaming signal that momentarily hit a receiver. But again, the family is trying to remain hopeful during this time.
And again, for the rescue crews it is very tough because of the weather. We have seen the rain turn to snow in just the last 10 minutes. As bad as the weather is here at this point, it's 10 times worse at the higher elevations.
M. O'BRIEN: Rescue crews were -- had set up kind of a base camp at 6,000 or 7,000 feet of altitude. Are they still there or have they had to even retreat from there?
LAWRENCE: They pulled back a little bit, but they still have the two staging areas on the north and south side of the mountain. And they say if the weather does clear, they could begin to climb the mountain.
It would take about four to six hours' climb to get up to that elevation. But here's the other thing you have to worry about. Even if this weekend we get a nice, sunny day, bright skies, the snow and this rain stops, there has been so much snow, these blizzards over the past few days have created these huge snow overhangs, and they say there is a huge danger of an avalanche at this point, something they'll have to factor in when they have to consider whether to send people up to those elevations.
Chris Lawrence there in Oregon.
Thank you.
Chad Myers at the CNN weather center with more on the forecast for the search and for the northwest in general -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's going to get better today, but it's going to get colder as well.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning also, Senator Tim Johnson is still in critical condition but he's responding to his wife's voice. The South Dakota Democrat suffered a brain hemorrhage on Wednesday, underwent emergency surgery.
Concerns about his health have a political dimension. If he resigns, the new Senate could shift to Republican control. Encouraging and stunning news this morning in the fight against breast cancer. The number of cases falling dramatically, and researchers think they know why.
From 2002 to 2003, the number of women diagnosed with the most common form of breast cancer dropped 15 percent. Looking at the timing, the decline happened just after doctors warned that hormone replacement therapy might increase breast cancer risk. Millions of women stopped the treatment commonly prescribed for symptoms of menopause. Doctors say that may have stopped the hormones from fueling cancer cells.
All clear for E. coli at Taco Bell. The outbreak that sickened 71 people apparently has run its course. Government health inspectors suspect the bacteria was spread by tainted lettuce, but the investigation is not over.
Across the pond this morning, Prince William is passing out. That's Brit speak for graduating from the elite Sandhurst Military Academy.
His father, Prince Charles, and his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, on hand for the ceremony happening right now. William now headed for months of combat training, but unlikely he'll ever serve on the front lines in a war zone.
Some spectacular pictures that we're not going to show you right now. All right. Forget those pictures. Sorry.
S. O'BRIEN: I know. It's a beautiful ceremony, actually.
M. O'BRIEN: Yeas.
S. O'BRIEN: And it's been fun to see earlier when they were describing how the queen was choked up to watch her grandson.
M. O'BRIEN: Kind of a quivering stiff upper lip, you might say.
S. O'BRIEN: You might say that.
We've got to tell you about this huge setback for congressional efforts to secure the nation's borders. Today's "New York Times" is reporting that homeland security officials are dropping their plans to develop facial or fingerprint recognition systems which would track if foreign visitors who come to the country actually leave when their visas expire. Apparently, a third of illegal immigrants, they say, are here because they just overstayed their visa.
The same security officials say they don't have the money, they don't have the technological expertise to make it all happen by the deadline, which was next December. Congress authorized a creation of that system back in 1996.
Rail security, though, is high on the Homeland Security priority list. And today Homeland Security is going to recommend new rules that could prevent terrorists from using trains as weapons. CNN's Brianna Keilar is live in Washington, D.C., for us with more.
Good morning, Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, good morning to you.
1.2 million containers of hazardous materials are shipped by train each year, and security experts have worried about the vulnerability of those railcars as they travel across unguarded tracks or even sit in unprotected rail yards. Later this morning, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is expected to announce new rules aimed at protecting Americans from this threat.
A department official tells CNN the rules apply specifically to railcars that carry what are called toxic inhalation hazardous chemicals. These are dangerous chemicals like chlorine or anhydrous ammonia. And inhaling these hazardous chemicals can cause nausea and possibly fatal breathing problems.
Now, among other things, rail carriers will have to make sure there's a secure change of custody between shippers and receivers. It will have to create special security for railcars parked in vulnerable urban areas. And the new rules will establish security coordinators who will share intel with the government. These new rules are expected to cover about 100,000 railcars that transport what Homeland Security considers the most dangerous chemicals -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Brianna Keilar for us this morning. She's in Washington, D.C.
Thank you very much, Brianna.
And of course you'll want to stay with CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
Got to get to a developing story in Gaza. Tensions running very high as violence has been breaking out between members of Fatah and Hamas.
CNN's Atika Shubert is in Gaza for us with a little bit more on what's happening there.
Atika, good morning.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
The situation on the streets of Gaza City is very tense. There's at the moment actually a huge rally going on at the soccer stadium here in support of Hamas.
Hamas has called its supporters out onto the streets. Tens of thousands flooded the stadium, welcoming Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
He was -- survived an attack on his convoy last night that injured his son and killed one of his bodyguards. Hamas has blamed the rival faction Fatah for the lack of security, and Hamas supporters have come out today to show their anger, including Hamas military forces who are on the streets now armed to the teeth -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: So of course the president, Mahmoud Abbas, is playing a role in all of this, as he is really on the Fatah side of this. And this is not the first incident or even a follow-up to the incident you described. This has been a series of back and forth between Fatah and Hamas.
Are they saying, Atika, that this has now degenerated into a civil war between the two groups?
SHUBERT: Well, that's exactly what Palestinians fear. However, Hamas officials insist this is not a civil war.
We spoke to foreign minister Mahmoud Zahar (ph), who is a senior Hamas leader. He said Hamas will restore order with its own military troops, and he challenged anybody that would try and defy Hamas' authority. But cautions (ph) continue.
This has been an especially bad week of violence. Three children were gunned down earlier this week. A judge was assassinated. And last night the attack on the prime minister.
So it does not seem that the violence is decreasing in any way. If anything, the tensions are only escalating -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Atika Shubert for us in Gaza this morning.
Thank you, Atika.
She's going to continue to watch it for us as well -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, today's the day. Donald Rumsfeld's last day on the job. We'll look back at the legacy of one of the most controversial defense secretaries ever.
And remember when I tested out the Nintendo Wii?
S. O'BRIEN: You were way ahead of the curve on that one.
M. O'BRIEN: I was way ahead of the curve. We wanted to find out if it was safe. There were some issues. Now there's a recall.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: New this morning, ferocious winds of up to 120 miles an hour expected to keep search teams from looking for those climbers missing on Mt. Hood today.
And a dramatic drop in cases of breast cancer. The number of women diagnosed in 2003 down 7 percent from the year before. Doctors think it has a lot to do with women stopping hormone replacement therapy.
Well, there are unknown unknowns, and there are known knowns, and this story falls in the latter category. As of today, the army will no longer fight with the defense secretary it has, Donald Rumsfeleld. He'll be remembered, of course, for the war in Iraq and for the way he had with words.
Special Correspondent Frank Sesno with George Washington University joining us now to talk about this.
Frank, this past summer you spent a lot of time with Donald Rumsfeld. And he does have a great way of turning a phrase. And sometimes makes you laugh, sometimes makes you...
FRANK SESNO, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Cringe.
M. O'BRIEN: Cringe. Sometimes makes you scratch your head.
Let's go through a few of them.
SESNO: OK.
M. O'BRIEN: Let's look at one of the famous ones right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Freedom is untidy. And free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things.
If you do something, somebody is not going to like it. Therefore, you've got a choice. You can go do nothing or you can go do something and live with the fact that somebody is not going to like it.
You're looking for some sort of a guillotine to come flowing down if some date isn't met. That is not what this is about. This is complicated stuff. It's difficult.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you want history to remember you?
RUMSFELD: My goodness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: All right. That was a little sampling of Rumsfeldisms. And there's a Web site you can go to that have them in great detail.
Big picture here, does he -- did he enjoy that give-and-take with the press secretly, do you think?
SESNO: Oh, absolutely. He enjoyed the give-and-take with the press, he enjoyed the give-and-take with his own generals. That kind of thing, very combative, hard-charging Rumsfeld...
M. O'BRIEN: He's a wrestler, right?
SESNO: And he says it.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SESNO: He says, "I'm competitive." And the people who are in the room with him, they say, you know, you start out with Rumsfeld, he tests you out, he challenges you. He sees if he can pin you. And you've got to stand up to him and push back. Those who don't push back have been the ones who have done the worst with him.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Now, we have three of the more memorable ones, I think. Let's listen to one of them now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUMSFELD: As we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say, we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don't know we don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: That actually became an opera. Do you remember that?
SESNO: Well, you know, I don't know if you know whether that's known or unknown. You know, it actually became part of a doll. There's a Rumsfeld doll out there that you can buy.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SESNO: It's now cheaper.
S. O'BRIEN: And it says that.
SESNO: Among other things.
It's actually very interesting. And what that sound bite that you played really reveals is Donald Rumsfeld has always prided himself on trying to be the guy who looks around the corner, who anticipates the unanticipated. And he's deconstructed it the way we used to diagram sentences when we were in school and you did that sort of thing for grammar.
And it's what's made Iraq so difficult for him and really such a setback, a failure, because he's tried to anticipate and he hasn't been able to. The unknown.
M. O'BRIEN: Unknowns.
All right. Let's go to another one. This is right after the fall of Baghdad. And this was a moment which many people remember. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RUMSFELD: Think what's happened in our cities when we've had riots and problems and looting. Stuff happens. It is a fundamental misunderstanding to see those images over and over and over again of some boy walking out with a vase (ph) and saying, oh, my goodness, you didn't have a plan. That's nonsense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: A lot of criticism came out of that one.
SESNO: A lot out of that one. And when I spoke with people who have worked with Rumsfeld, studied Rumsfeld, looked at this whole thing, many of them point to that very moment as a reflection of his stubbornness, his intransigence.
You know, what he was trying to say is, look, war is messy, you can't predict it. You know, you've got to charge on through. What others say is this is Donald Rumsfeld, the denier.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Now, you mentioned turning points. A lot of people would point to this next one as a real turning point for him. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUMSFELD: You go to war with the Army you have and not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Set that up. That came in response to a question from a National Guardsman who was asking about body armor. And that, I think -- there you see him there as he was asking that question.
Was that a turning point, you think?
SESNO: I don't know if it was a turning point, but it may have been a turning point, Miles, in the public perception of Donald Rumsfeld for sure, because what -- again, what he was saying is it's fog of war, you fight with what you've got. You can make all the greatest plans in the world, but they don't hold up when you get on the battlefield.
He's not wrong in that. What the problem was with that was the public perception, the perception that America's men and women are out there fighting and dying up against these improvised explosive devices, car bombs, this kind of thing, and here's the secretary of defense in their midst saying, hey, you deal with what you've got, get over it. And that's not really what he meant, but it's how it came across.
M. O'BRIEN: And quickly, do you think he'll write a book? And if so, will we be able to understand it?
SESNO: It won't be a kiss-and-tell book.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SESNO: And I think you'll be able to understand it. And I think in the end, if he were to write the book, he would say the cause was just, the purpose was right, and America is -- you know, still stands for good things. He stands by this, even though it hasn't gone as planned.
M. O'BRIEN: Frank Sesno, our special correspondent with George Washington University.
Thanks for dropping by.
SESNO: My pleasure, Miles, as always.
M. O'BRIEN: All right.
If you're heading out the door -- oh, you're there. Hello, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: I'll take it.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: If you're heading out the door, let's get a check of the traveler's forecast for you. Chad's got that.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: So, are you headed out the door?
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I am headed out the door. But not for a while. But some time today for sure.
MYERS: Very good.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, you know they call the 109th Congress, the Congress that's on its way out the door, the do-nothing Congress. They said they got nothing done. And that is so unfair. Congress actually spent more than half its time getting their own names on buildings.
Plus, you heard it here first. We'll tell you about the problem with that strap on Nintendo Wii's controller. Now there's a recall in the works.
Those stories straight ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Well, it turns out that do-nothing Congress that's on its way out the door actually did something on the three days a week that they worked on the Hill. They spent a lot of time, and we mean a lot of time, getting names on buildings.
AMERICAN MORNING'S Bob Franken is live at one of them this morning in Queens, New York. Good morning, Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Well, part of the ambience in Queens for so long has been known as the Woodside postal station in back of me. But no more. It is now the Tom Manton Post Office, and it is proof that the so-called do- nothing Congress actually did do something.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May we have order?
FRANKEN (voice over): The 109th Congress gave names to 99 post offices and other federal buildings. Busy, busy, busy.
Only 383 bills of any sort became law in the 109th, which means 25 percent of all legislation was spent naming. So the session wasn't a total loss.
There is now a Ray Charles post office in Los Angeles. Another in L.A. honoring actor Karl Malden.
Smithfield, North Carolina, now has one commemorating Ava Gardner. She was born in Smithfield and already has a museum there.
But many of the 99 give serious homage to members of the U.S. military who lost their lives in Iraq or Afghanistan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An act to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 103 East Thompson Street in Thomaston, Georgia, as the Sergeant 1st Class Robert Lee Bobby Hollar, Jr., Post Office Building.
FRANKEN: Other great Americans were honored.
In Detroit, a federal building is newly named after civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks. Countless structures are named after former members of Congress. Starting this year, they must be here and after named for people that have gone to the hereafter, like the late senator from Oklahoma.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senate 1820, an act to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located although 6110 East 51st place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the Dewey F. Bartlett Post Office.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: And right now, Soledad, you are probably asking yourself, who is this Thomas Manton? Well, he, too, was a member of Congress, 14 years. He died this year. He now has a post office building named after him.
The Congress did do something and, of course, it points out that it is so easy to criticize. S. O'BRIEN: Bob Franken for us this morning.
Good for him. I mean, it's not every day you get your name on a post office.
Thanks, Bob.
We want to take you to the White House, in fact. We're getting reports of a suspicious package there. In fact, a report from the U.S. Secret Service says this, that there was a suspicious package in one of the permanent tents that's set up, I guess, for the protesters and the police setup there, used by police when the protesters are in front of the White House.
Just around 7:45 this morning, so about 45 minutes ago, somebody threw an item, they're calling it, into one of those permanent tents. And they are considering it suspicious at this point.
They don't have the individual who threw the item, but they have shut down Pennsylvania Avenue. Police are now on the scene.
The Explosive Ordnance Division on the scene as well. And I guess the item itself landed right inside one of the tents, so they've shut down the park and they've shut down pedestrian traffic until they figure out exactly, one, is it suspicious, and what is it?
They have got the park police and the metropolitan police and the Secret Service all working together on this right now. So this is a suspicious package that was thrown by someone who then -- it sounds as if the person took off in the vicinity of the White House in one of those permanent tents set up right there on the park there.
So we're going to update you on this, whether it clears and turns out to be nothing, or if it's something more ominous, as we continue to watch it for you in Washington, D.C. -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: We should point out between the north lawn and Pennsylvania Avenue, by the time you get to Lafayette Park...
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, it's quite a distance.
M. O'BRIEN: Quite a distance.
S. O'BRIEN: It's not right. But it's certainly in the area that would be close enough.
M. O'BRIEN: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: And it sounds very strange. I mean, to have someone sort of toss an item into one of those tents that the police often use is obviously raising big red flags for them, too.
M. O'BRIEN: It could be garbage, too.
Nintendo must have been watching us. They're recalling those dangerous straps on the Wii controller that we showed you about. It is 25 minutes past the hour. Ali Velshi is here with that and more.
Hello, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, this is all for you. You saved the gamers.
I think we -- Miles did a story on this, on these -- these controllers on the Wii that allow you to mimic motions like -- in Miles' case, he was boxing. But you can swing it like a tennis racket or you can -- you can -- like a golf club, like a sword.
Anyway, those straps that are supposed to attach this thing to you, there have been reports, as Miles was saying, of them breaking. And as a result of that, Nintendo is recalling 3.2 million of the straps on the Wii.
Obviously, a lot of these have been sold. And it's going to take some time to get them back. So if you're buying one or you just bought one, not to worry. Nintendo will replace them. They're making them thicker.
M. O'BRIEN: Good. Very good idea.
VELSHI: Yes. And thanks to you.
M. O'BRIEN: Shucks. Shucks. Thanks, Ali.
S. O'BRIEN: You weren't so modest about this earlier in the week when you were doing this story.
VELSHI: Right. No, I watched and I thought that looked like a fun story, and how do I get myself into more of these stories where we get to play video games. And then now we have a 3.2 million recall.
Good for you. All right.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you, Ali.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's take a look at what's coming up this weekend on CNN. Betty Nguyen and T.J. Holmes are at the CNN Center with a preview of what they've got for us.
Good morning, guys. Are you playing basketball or something this morning? What's going on?
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: We can't hear you.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, you can't hear me? What's with the basketball?
M. O'BRIEN: Now we can't hear them.
S. O'BRIEN: I can't hear you either.
All right. How about this? I have a -- I have a crazy suggestion. Let's fix the audio problems. Then I can hear Betty and Betty can hear me.
VELSHI: I bet you she's talking about those basketballs.
S. O'BRIEN: I was thinking. Or maybe they're not going to tell us what's on the show. They'll just play some hoops for us.
M. O'BRIEN: Do we have a dish (ph)?
VELSHI: You don't really need to speak.
(CROSSTALK)
S. O'BRIEN: Exactly. We'll fix that and figure it out. And get right back to you with a look at what they've got coming up for you over the weekend.
Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, the life of a war correspondent. What's it really like living in Iraq's dangerous city? Michael Ware, who has been reporting for us from Baghdad, and then before that for "TIME" magazine, we'll join us to talk about some of the stories and things that he has witnessed firsthand in Iraq.
And then big news in the fight against breast cancer. A significant drop in the women diagnosed. Some doctors think they know why. We'll explain straight ahead.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: The fight for Iraq, unrelenting violence and an uncertain future for American troops. We'll take you onto the front lines of the conflict with CNN correspondent Michael Ware, just back from Baghdad.
S. O'BRIEN: The legacy and the future of a famous evangelical family. Franklin Graham joins us live. We're going to talk about some of the challenges that he and his father, Bill, are facing.
M. O'BRIEN: And new pictures of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's baby Shiloh. Helping us understand what makes Americans crazy for cute on this AMERICAN MORNING.
S. O'BRIEN: That's not the baby; that's the panda. Also cute. Cute baby, cute panda -- why do we think they're cute?
Welcome back, everybody. It's Friday, December 15th. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Thanks for being with us.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's first update you on what's happening at the White House. We told you a moment ago that There was a suspicious package. This coming from the Secret Service. Well, it looks like they've now given the all-clear that, in fact, it is nothing dangerous. That was in Lafayette Park. So a decent distance away from the White House, but certainly something that was apparently tossed into one of those tents there, enough to shutdown pedestrian traffic and also other traffic in the area in more of those parks. So all clear there and they are moving on to other stories in D.C.
(NEWSBREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Every day we see and hear so much about what goes on in Iraq, kidnapping, insurgent violence, but what's it like to be right in the middle of it all?
CNN's Michael Ware has spent four years covering the war in Iraq. He's here with us this morning.
Good to see you in person, safe and sound, Michael. Back on a little leave, well-deserved leave, we might add.
Yesterday in the Pipeline segment I do, an interesting question came from a viewer. Greg offered this e-mail question. He said this, "Why do the insurgents in Iraq seem to have no supply problems for their bomb material? After all, the U.S. government is constantly worried about how to resupply our troops." Explain how they fund the insurgent campaign
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a number of ways, Miles. I men, don't forget, for a start, Iraq is all but one large ammunition dump. And don't forget, both sides, the Sunni and the Shia across the sectarian divide, continually get resupplied across Iraq's borders, the Shia from Iran and the Sunni primarily through Syria. Now there's lots of money pumping in across the borders as well.
Plus, the insurgents generate money inside Iraq. For example, in the western city of Ramadi that President Bush pointed to as the heartland of Al Qaeda, U.S. Marines intelligence say Al Qaeda penetrated the ministry of oil and was tapping away between $400,000 and $600,000 per month.
M. O'BRIEN: So that's a pretty sophisticated way of funding operations. It gives you a level of sophistication.
Another way that they generate revenue are these kidnappings. Does that seem to be on the rise?
WARE: Listen, the kidnappings have been a phenomenon almost since the statue of Saddam fell. And we've seen it reach epic proportions now. And certainly that is one of the contributing factors, one of the financing areas that the insurgents have been tapping into. But what we're now seeing are these mass kidnappings, primarily on a sectarian basis. I mean, this is to kill people for their faith.
M. O'BRIEN: These are not about revenue. This is a new dimension to these kidnappings.
WARE: By and large, these large (INAUDIBLE), where you see 60, 70, 150 people taken, normally by men in police or government uniforms, this is about death squad activity. M. O'BRIEN: All right, well, in that context, it's a horribly dangerous place to work, and you've done it for four years now. And I know we can't tip our full hand because that would undermine our own security, but can you give us a sense of how you as a correspondent do your job and try to get the real story and yet stay safe.
WARE: Well, obviously it's extremely difficult. I mean, if you're not embedded with the U.S. military, which by and large, we don't do quite so often, because that only gives you one little aspect of the story. I mean, the story is much broader. Journalists live in heavily fortified compounds. Basically you need to be ready to defend yourself, from car bombs, from attack and from mortar and missile fire. Traveling around the city is extremely difficult. And we've got to be very careful about what we say and don't say to give too much away.
M. O'BRIEN: It must be very frustrating as a reporter, though, not to be able to just grab your notebook, go out and talk to people. You can't do that, can you?
WARE: Extremely so. I mean, you can do it in very limited circumstances. But essentially you need to get the permission of whichever militia or organization is in control of a particular area, or we send out Iraqis, Iraqi journalist who work for us.
But honestly, they're being killed in the droves. They're really on the journalistic front line. The number of Iraqi journalists who have died in the past year is staggering, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Michael Ware who covers the war from Baghdad. You've been there four years. You're going to take a little break and head right back.
WARE: Yes, that's it.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much. Be safe, please -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, let's try to see if our audio dilemma is fixed, and we'll go back to Betty Nguyen and T.J. Holmes.
No basketball this time.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: We'll bring it out, don't you worry.
Hey, Soledad, just in case you haven't been counting, you have just 10 days to wrap up the Christmas gifts and get that shopping done.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, but hold on one second, you might want to think twice before you pick up that gift card. We'll tell you how to avoid the latest holiday scam.
NGUYEN: Also, when was the last time you heard someone say this at the pulpit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to remind you, buy something at the bar. Tip your waiters and waitresses. I've always wanted to say that in church.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Like father like son? Not really.
Jay Bakker, the son of infamous televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye now a self-styled punk rock preacher with his own TV show. You'll hear more about his unconventional ministry. That's in our Faces of Fate.
NGUYEN: Also, an eye-opening story about this old man and the knock in the head -- yes, the head -- that changed his life. We're going be talking about that in the Water Cooler.
HOLMES: And here it is. There was a point to it. This is the new basketball. It's getting bounced. Now, what was wrong with the old basketball?
NGUYEN: That's the question, what's wrong with this.
HOLMES: What's wrong with that one. It does the job just fine.
NGUYEN: So they say.
HOLMES: Betty has skills.
NGUYEN: I do. Let me see.
HOLMES: OK, we're going to get on out of here, just please.
S. O'BRIEN: That's all right, Betty. I'm impressed, girl.
NGUYEN: I know, I've got some skills.
You're missing it, Soledad. You're missing.
S. O'BRIEN: I'm missing it, yes, uh-huh.
NGUYEN: It was great, let me tell you.
S. O'BRIEN: OK, guys. We'll see you over the weekend. Thanks for the preview.
And of course time is running out on 2006, and also the time you have left on which you can save things from the tax man in April 2007. We've got some advice this morning from Gerri Willis, of course is CNN's personal finance editor.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every year the alternative minimum tax puts the squeeze on millions of middle-class families. This year is no different.
DONNA LEVALLEY: If you have a high state and local income tax deductions, a lot of personal exemptions, a lot of miscellaneous itemized deductions, all those can add up to lower your regular tax burden too much.
WILLIS: If dealing with the AMT is a certainty, don't prepay your property taxes, and don't take out a home equity loan to pay off your credit card debt until after New Year's.
Another way, make your home more energy efficient. Replace your windows, install new doors or add insulation to your home. You'll get a tax credit for up to 10 percent of the costs. Buying energy- efficient appliances is another way to win tax credits from state or local governments. If you're in the market for a new car, consider buying a hybrid.
LEVALLEY: Every manufacturer is allowed to sell 60,000 cars before their credit's reduced. So currently Honda, Ford, everybody but Toyota has the full 100 percent credit. So the faster you get there, the faster you get the car you want with the biggest credit.
WILLIS: That can give you a tax credit worth up to $3,400.
Own a phone? This year you can get up to 60 bucks back for a family of four. It's payback for an old phone tax Americans have been paying for the past century. And don't forget your nest egg. You can contribute $1,000 more to your 401(k) this year. And if you're over 50, you can make catchup contributions of up to $5,000.
(on camera): But do all of this before December 31st, or you'll have to wait another whole year to reap the rewards.
Gerri Willis, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: If you want more information about planning for next year and also some special holiday projects for kids, it's all going to be on Open House Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
Ahead this morning, we talk to the Reverend Franklin Graham. He's got a special project for Christmas.
Plus, some other ways evangelicals have been in the news lately. We'll talk about all those things straight ahead.
Plus, a huge day at the Zoo Atlanta. Their 100-day-old baby panda - these are live pictures of that little baby panda -- it's still nameless because, of course, today is the day where they traditionally get their name, the 100-day naming ceremony is today. We'll get a live look, talk about some options straight ahead.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: If you're heading into or out of Chicago today, this could have a ripple effect all throughout the nation. A problem with the radar system there is backing up traffic a little bit. Take a look at our flight explorer. This is realtime information on flights going into O'Hare, slowed down by at least 15 or 16 minutes. They're on a backup radar system right now. Fortunately the weather there is pretty good, ten miles of visibility, 3,000-foot ceilings. Nevertheless, separation has been increased. You will expect a delay -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Miles, thanks.
Well, they call it the world's biggest Christmas Project, worldwide. It's called Operation Christmas Child, where millions of children in 90 countries getting a shoe box filled with gifts over the holiday season. And for some of these children in certain countries, it's the first time they've ever gotten gift.
Franklin Graham is president of Samaritan's Purse, which is hand- delivering the shoe box gifts. He's here to talk about that. And also some other ways evangelicals have been in the news for good and for bad.
So let's start with the shoe box. With the two weeks between now and Christmas, you're hoping to get a million of these made. What's inside?
FRANKLIN GRAHAM, PRESIDENT, SAMARITAN'S PURSE: We've got about eight million this year.
S. O'BRIEN: Already.
GRAHAM: And these are packed by children, by families. And they're like snowflakes, there's not two boxes alike, they're all different. They've got a letter. They've got toys. They've got toothbrush and toothpaste. If it's for a girl, there's ribbon for the hair. If it's a boy, it may have a soccer ball. But eight million boxes. And we ask everybody to pray, pray for the child who's going to gets the box, because these boxes go to war areas, famine areas, places of great poverty, children of victims of AIDS.
S. O'BRIEN: Then it's really no exaggeration for some of these children, they've never gotten a gift before?
GRAHAM: They've never gotten a gift in their life. And, of course, we're celebrating Christmas. And this is the birth of Jesus Christ, God's son, the greatest gift of all. And I want these children to know there is a God who loves for them, who cares for them, who's provided from them to be with him in Heaven, and that's through faith in Jesus Christ.
S. O'BRIEN: And a shoe box full of gifts. For someone who has now made a shoe box with their kids at home, how do they get it to you? We've got the Web site right there. GRAHAM: Just go to the Web site, and all the information is there, the instructions on how to send it, where it goes, that sort of thing.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, maybe you'll make nine million this year.
GRAHAM: I hope.
S. O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a couple of questions, the first about this article that was in "The Washington Post," the one on the front page, and I know you read it.
GRAHAM: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: It talked about your father, the Reverend Billy Graham, who everybody knows, and talked about his condition being very poor. He's not been well for a long time. But the article says he's near death and there's been fighting in your family over where he's going to be buried.
GRAHAM: No, my father is in pretty good health. My mother and father, they're just getting older. And we have two wonderful locations, the Billy Graham Training Center outside of Asheville, North Carolina is a place where my mother would like to be buried. And my father, the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, both wonderful locations.
S. O'BRIEN: And both about 90 miles apart, right?
GRAHAM: About 90 miles apart.
And you know what, for 60 years, over 60 years, they've been married, and they resolved those issues, and it's not a fight. It's just mama has one thing, daddy has the other thing. And you know what, the two of them will work that out, and it's not a big issue.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, it's not going to end up with your mother and father buried 90 miles apart, will it?
GRAHAM: No, no, no, it will never happen. I'm the son, and I'm responsible for both locations. And whatever they decide is what I'm going to do. And I'm going to honor my father and I'm going to honor my mother. That's the way I was raised. I would never do anything that would dishonor them.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about controversy among evangelicals. As you know, there've been now a couple preachers who have admitted to having sex with men. Often people look at this and say, how hypocritical. These are the same guys who are preaching against gay marriage in some cases or homosexuality. Is this indicative causing a crisis among evangelicals? I mean, at first reading, it could be seen as, wow, this is incredibly hypocritical, not to mention, sort of the second lives that these guys seem to be leading.
GRAHAM: It's not a crisis. Listen, sin has been in the world since the very beginning, since Adam and Eve. And the bible says we've all sinned and come short of God's standard, his glory. And yet God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. That whosoever believeth in him shouldn't perish but have everlasting life. Jesus Christ was born at Christmas, but he came into this world for a reason, and that was for sin,k to take all sin. And he went to the cross for each and every one of us. And if we confess our sins and turn from our sins, God will forgive us.
And yes, there have been preachers who are men who have sinned. I'm a sinner, Soledad, but, yet I've been forgiven, because I asked Christ to come into my heart and into life over 30 years ago. And it changes my life. But you know what, I'm still a sinner, but God loves me, and he's forgiven me, and he'll do it for each and every person who confesses their sin and comes to him through faith.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, we thank you for talking with us this morning. Thanks for telling us about this. We're going to see pop up the URL again so people can send off these, and we'll see how it ends with the argument that's going on between the family.
GRAHAM: There's not an argument, I promise. It's just a...
S. O'BRIEN: Discussion that's going on.
Franklin Graham, nice to see you as always. Thanks for being with us. Appreciate it.
GRAHAM: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, cute versus cute. Take a look at this. Baby Shiloh. Do we have a picture? Well, she's Brangelina's cute little baby. Band panda -- there we go. Baby panda, baby Shiloh, baby panda, who is the cutest? And why do we think they're so cute. We'll take a look straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: In just about an hour, Zoo Atlanta is going to announce the name of their little baby panda cub. She's 100 days old today and, oh, so cute. Then you have Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's little baby, Shiloh, and they're out with new pictures, too. Oh, so, so cute. Whether it's a human baby or a panda cub, just what makes us so crazy for cuteness?
Jeanne Moos has our look this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Sure hope Shiloh isn't shy, because her face is plastered all over the place
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The lips, the nose, the eyes, the everything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
MOOS: But all this rhapsodizing about the Brangelina baby got us wondering.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How can you define cute?
MOOS: It's that thing that makes you go...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh.
MOOS: But there is a science to cute, and a poster child is the panda bear. For instance, the cub at Washington's National Zoo.
(on camera): Which one is cuter to you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The baby panda.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The panda.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The baby.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, that panda bear is so cute.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a cute baby.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I love children, but I think the panda is just so cute. Look at the eyes.
MOOS (voice over): Researchers say humans react to forward- facing eyes set low on a big, round face, with prominent ears, floppy limbs, and a waddling gate. No wonder folks seem attracted to penguins, both real and animated.
They say cuteness stimulates the same pleasure centers in the brain that are aroused by sex, food and drugs. We say "ah" over the pandas. Photographers even said "ah" over a wax version of the Brangelina baby introduced at Madame Tussauds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That baby is very cute.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably the panda because the baby is going to turn into a disgusting teenager.
MOOS: Researchers say humans react to the vulnerability of the young.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he kind of shows a vulnerable side.
MOOS: Which is good for evolution, since it brings out protective instincts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hold it. Hold it.
MOOS: There are Web sites devoted to cute, like Cute Overload, which features nothing but cute pictures and videos that people submit. Sleepiness seems to add to the vulnerability we find so appealing.
There's even a section for cute products. And who doesn't see the round face factor in cute cars like the VW Bug and the Mini?
The opposite of cute overload is ugly overload, featuring cow tongues and bats, not to mention El Pacas (ph). But sometimes homeliness can be cute.
One of the most popular stories I have ever done was on Sam, the three-time winner of the ugliest dog contest, now deceased. And as for the smackdown between the panda and the Brangelina baby...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This bear is much cuter than that baby. I know that baby cries. And that bear, well, he just looks too damn cute.
MOOS: ... the panda won, 16-12, a vote not worth losing sleep over.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Actually I think the dog was the cutest.
M. O'BRIEN: Might win.
S. O'BRIEN: The little sleepy dog. That was cute. I like that.
M. O'BRIEN: That's what I feel like about 9:00 every morning.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's get a live shot of the little baby panda at Zoo Atlanta right now. Oh, that is cute. Little butterball.
In about an hour they do the big naming ceremony. Yes, that's exciting.
M. O'BRIEN: We're going to update you on that as soon as it happens.
We don't miss a trick here. We'll have that. We'll have Everything for you. A quick look at what else they're looking at in the NEWSROOM today.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: See these stories in the NEWSROOM. A cell phone signal raising hopes for climbers stranded on Oregon's Mount Hood.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you are stuck in these conditions, what do you do? How do you survive?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Our Rick Sanchez with survival guidelines.
E. coli outbreak. Taco bell says the government gives its restaurants an all-clear. A future king graduating from an elite military academy. The prince, now Second Lieutenant William.
You're in the NEWSROOM, 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 on the West Coast.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: We're out of time but be sure to join me this weekend, tomorrow, 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, we're going to announce Time's person of the year.
M. O'BRIEN: Tell me who it is. Tell me!
S. O'BRIEN: No, no, I will not reveal. You have to wait until 8:00 p.m. tomorrow. That's it for AMERICAN MORNING.
Let's take you right to "CNN NEWSROOM."
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
