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American Morning
Algeria Bomb Blast; Mortgage Meltdown: Who Can Help Homeowners?; Deadly Ice Storm Across Five States, Jeanne Assam Honored
Aired December 11, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We just spoke with a spokesperson for the U.N. High Commission for Refugees office. He told us that one of the bombs went off between two United Nations buildings and that the face of the U.N. HCR building has been blown off. And that right now, they are doing an urgent headcount but it's believed that many members of staff and people on the street are among the dead.
Now, these two bombs went off within minutes of each other. It's believed the other bomb went off near the Supreme Court building and that possibly several of the victims were students on a local school bus. Now, local media already referring to these blasts as terror attacks. There were reports that one of them was triggered by a suicide bomber, but it's now looking that they were both car bombs, basically cars filled with explosives that blew up.
Now, all of this happening in the northern part of Algiers. That is the capital of Algeria. Streets have been cordoned off. People running around in panic. Now, fatal blasts historically a problem across Algeria. There have been a wave of attacks recently. Over 50 bombs went off in September alone. As far as this bomb, these two bombs, no immediate claim of responsibility yet, but we are, of course, following this story, and we'll bring you the very latest -- John.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Emily Chang for us this morning. Emily, thanks very much. We'll let you get back to work on the phones, so we'll get more on this from you as developments warrant -- Kiran.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we're watching extreme weather this morning as well. An ice storm on the move. And winter storm warnings are now up. Ice covering parts of five states. At least, 18 people have died on slick roads. Right now, there's been winter storm warnings posted for Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois. More than 500,000 people are without power as trees and power lines snapped because of the heavy ice. In fact, some people saying as much as three inches of ice coating their trees and power lines. Thousands of air travelers also stranded.
Our Rob Marciano is here in New York with us today, and he is tracking the latest on this storm. Boy, we certainly saw a lot of pink on your map, which is not a good thing.
ROB MARCIANO, METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Pink is not a good thing in this particular case, Kiran. Good morning again. And it looks like the cold air is going to stick around for a couple of days unlike the ice storm that rolled through the area last week, where it warmed up pretty quickly. So there's the pink. That indicates a mix sleet, freezing rain. The snow is in white.
And then what's concerning is down across parts of Texas, that's a lot of heavy rain that's going to be moving up into this cold air that's really trapped down at the very shallowest levels of the atmosphere. So you get warm rain moving into cold, frozen ground. Boom! That's where you get your frozen precipitation. So right now, mostly from Kansas City north and eastward, here is where you have the highest probability of seeing significant ice accumulations today.
How much and how fast? That's probably the most alarming thing. The Storm Prediction Center is saying, well, hey, we could see in some cases like in Kansas City, Missouri, accumulations of a 0.25 inch per hour. That is a tremendous amount of frozen precip if it's just over a 24-hour period, let alone one hour.
We could see that sort of a rapid accumulation today. Look at the current temperatures right now. In Omaha, it's 25. In Kansas City, right at that freezing mark, 32. Twenty-nine degrees in Des Moines. They'll see some ice and sleet and some snow accumulation there. And then really warm air to the southeast, where we'll see a record high temperatures. But the big story today and really for the next couple of days, Kiran, is going to be this ice event across the Midwest again. Back over to you.
CHETRY: All right. We'll be bracing for it. Thanks a lot, Rob.
MARCIANO: OK.
CHETRY: Well, we head into the storm right now. CNN's Jacqui Jeras live in Kansas City with more on what it's like where she is this morning. Hi, Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, AMERICAN MORNING CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Kiran. You know, it's incredibly hazardous to walk around. The sidewalks are just covered with ice. Take a look at this. You can see the ice accumulating. When I kick it with my foot, it kind of turns into a slushy mess. But everywhere you walk, it's very dangerous because you could just slip very easily.
Now, the roadways, that's a different story. Look at these cars moving on through. They're moving along, no problem. The roadways are wet. It's just really everything that's elevated that is collecting this ice. We probably had at least a good quarter of an inch or so of ice accumulating already here in Kansas City. And look how it collects and just drips off right here along the raised railways. It's doing that on trees as well.
Power lines -- we talked to Kansas City Power and Light this morning. They're telling us that there are about 22,000 people without power on the Missouri side of things, and they've also restored power to about 18,000 people. So they are making a little bit of progress. That's some good news there. At the airports in Kansas City, about 80 percent of departures have been canceled. Sixty percent of arrivals have been canceled and also, there's a scattering of cancellations in regional airports as well, like St. Louis, Oklahoma City, and into this Tulsa area. So travel is very difficult particularly in the outlying areas.
Schools are closed here in Kansas City, but many businesses are open. We're out here on the plaza in downtown Kansas City, so there is some activity going on. The roadways are OK, but you really have to be careful when you're trying to walk around on the sidewalks and especially over these bridges here -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Jacqui Jeras for us in Kansas City with an update this morning. Thanks.
ROBERTS: It is now five minutes after the hour. The head of the CIA will be called to Capitol Hill today to explain why videotapes of interrogations were destroyed. Michael Hayden is scheduled to testify in a closed session with the Senate intelligence committee. Those tapes were destroyed in 2005. Several investigations are under way right now, looking into who knew and who approved the decision despite the objection of the White House, justice department, and several members of the congress.
The tapes showed the interrogation of two top Al Qaeda members. A former CIA officer who was involved in the capture of Abu Zubaydah and familiar with his "enhanced interrogation" says waterboarding was used against him, and he says the technique broke Zubaydah in less than 35 seconds.
Waterboarding makes the suspect believe he's drowning. The agent says he did not participate in waterboarding but believes it provided intelligence that probably saved lives. In retrospect, though, he now thinks it's a form of torture. And stick around with us here because we'll talk with that former agent John Kiriakou coming up in our next hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Turning now to the battle for the White House. This morning, Mike Huckabee is in a virtual tie for first place among Republican candidates nationwide. But a new CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll released just an hour ago suggests it won't be an easy win for Huckabee. If voters went to the polls today, Huckabee, in fact, would lose by a substantial margin to any of the top three Democratic candidates.
Huckabee would lose by 10 points to Hillary Clinton, by 15 points to Barack Obama, and by 25 points to John Edwards. We'll be talking more about the new poll with our chief national correspondent John King, coming up in just a few minutes time this morning.
The superbug is back. A middle school teacher in Maryland has died from complications of a drug-resistant form of staph infection. Mary King had been out of school since last month and was hospitalized last week. School officials say no one at the school has a higher risk of contracting the infection because of her getting it. But to be on the safe side, they are sanitizing King's classroom -- Kiran. CHETRY: Well, we're learning more this morning about the two church shootings in Colorado and the gunman police say is responsible for both attacks that killed four people. Police say the shooter is 24-year-old Matthew Murray, seen here in a picture sent to CNN by Murray's former roommate, Richard Werner.
Murray is the son of a neurologist, who's a prominent researcher on multiple sclerosis. His former roommate told Anderson Cooper last night that he bunked with Murray five years ago at the missionary training school, where Murray allegedly carried out his first attack Sunday. Werner says that Murray was kicked out because of strange behavior.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF RICHARD WERNER, GUNMAN'S FORMER ROOMMATE: I woke up at 5:30 in the morning, and he was just tossing and turning, making some strange noises. And I was like, hey, Matthew, what are you doing? And he said, I'm just talking to my voices, man. Just calm down. I said, dude, you've got to be kidding me. And he said, don't worry, Richard, you're a nice guy. You know, you don't have to worry. The voices, they like you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Police are also hailing New Life Church security guard Jeanne Assam as a hero. She shot Murray. Police say they think that the shot only wounded him, that he actually killed himself. But still many are saying she put her life on the line to make sure more people were not killed. CNN's Jim Acosta joins us live from Colorado Springs with more on that side of the story as well. Good morning, Jim.
JIM ACOSTA: Good morning, Kiran. Yes, gunman Matthew Murray may have finished himself off, but it was the quick thinking of a former police officer that brought this rampage to an end.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): Cool under fire, Jeanne Assam says she never flinched as she took down a killer inside the New Life Church.
JEANNE ASSAM, CHURCH SECURITY GUARD: I saw him coming through the doors and I took cover, and I waited for him to get closer, and I came out of cover and identified myself and engaged him and took him down.
ACOSTA: An armed volunteer security guard at the church, Assam had never fired a shot before. But church leaders say her steady hand saved lives when she stopped 24-year-old shooter Matthew Murray. According to police, Murray had a high powered rifle and a thousand rounds of ammunition as he tried to storm the sanctuary's hallways, just as several thousand parishioners were leaving Sunday's services. Assam's security detail was on hand for just such an emergency.
REV. BRADY BOYD, LEAD PASTOR, NEW LIFE CHURCH: If we had not had an armed person on our campus, 50 to 100 people could have lost their lives.
ACOSTA: Murray gunned down two teenage sisters, Stephanie and Rachel Works, and wounded the girl's father before Assam took aim.
ASSAM: I just knew I was not going to wait for him to do any further damage.
ACOSTA: Police say one of the weapons found on Murray after he was shot has been positively linked to an earlier deadly shooting at this missionary training center in nearby Arvada.
SGT. JEFF JENSEN, COLORADO SPRINGS POLICE: There's a forensics -- a positive forensics match between forensics evidence recovered from their scene as well as evidence that was recovered from our scene.
ACOSTA: The mission says Murray had trained there but was asked to leave because of his strange behavior. According to others at the mission, he told people he was hearing voices. Late in the evening, the gunman's uncle read a brief statement expressing the family's sorrow.
PASTOR PHIL ABEYTA, UNCLE OF COLORADO SHOOTER MATTHEW MURRAY: Our family cannot express the magnitude of our grief for the victims and families of this tragedy. On behalf of our family and our son, we ask for forgiveness.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: And this morning, police in Colorado were investigating what appears to be an online manifesto posted by Murray between the two shootings. That manifesto, according to the "Denver Post" is nearly word for word what Columbine killer Eric Harris left before that school massacre -- Kiran.
CHETRY: What a shame. Jim Acosta live for us in Colorado today. Thanks.
ROBERTS: Eleven minutes now after the hour. The fed meets today to consider another cut to interest rates. Our Ali Velshi at the business update desk. And Ali, I take it it's not so much a consideration as a done deal?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we have been wrong so many times on this one that I want to say that most people think the fed is going to cut by a quarter of a percentage point. The fed rate right now is 4.5 percent. That means the prime rate which is connected to so many of our loans is 7.5 percent. They move in lock steps.
So if the fed cuts a quarter percentage point, the prime rate will go down, which means a lot of your loans, particularly revolving credit, anything tied to prime rate will go down.
The question here is whether we are still headed for a recession or not. And Merrill Lynch, I'm sorry, Morgan Stanley has become the latest bank to say that we are. So now Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley have both predicted that we will be in a recession at least for a little bit of 2008. Neither of them predicting a deep recession. Goldman Sachs last week said, no, we'll avoid a recession.
Our economic growth in the United States will slow dramatically and unemployment will increase, but we'll dodge the recession. Everybody seems to believe that unemployment will increase. As we know, John, unemployment level in this country is 4.7 percent. Goldman Sachs says it will go as high as 5.5 percent by next year.
The fed is trying to avert a recession by cutting rates, putting more money out there, and you know, stimulating demand. So we'll see what happens this afternoon, 2:15 Eastern is when that fed rate is expected, the fed rate announcement is expected.
ROBERTS: But on the employment front, the last jobless report was better than expected, right?
VELSHI: That's right. And that's why, you know, some people say it's not going to be that bad. But a lot of forecasts say we have not seen the worst of this yet. And as you know, John, we can't sort of take one month's worth of results and make a trend out of it. This is one of those things you can almost always see better once it's happened.
ROBERTS: All right. We know you're keeping a sharp eye on all this.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROBERTS: Ali, we'll get back to you a little later, thanks. Kiran?
CHETRY: All right. Still ahead, Jesse Jackson speaking out on the need for mortgage reform. We'll tell you what he says about the president's bail-out plan. Our personal finance editor Gerri Willis is going to be joining us with more on that.
Also, what a difference a few weeks make. Mike Huckabee rocketing up in the new polls. He's now tied among the top GOP candidates. But how will he fare against the Democrats? Chief national correspondent John King joins us to break it all down, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Sixteen minutes now after the hour, and some amazing shots of the morning on our "Quick Hits" now. Take a look at this. Fire and ice in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Flames shooting through the roof. The family huddled in the cold as firefighters tried to save their home. Firefighters say that ice may have started the fire when it brought down power lines and caused an electrical short circuit.
Santa Claus salutes the troops at Fort Bliss in Texas. Here he is shaking hands with staff sergeant Ricardo Silvera (ph) of the 4th Brigade Combat team. He gave a holiday greeting to about 200 other soldiers who just returned from combat in Iraq in time for the holidays.
And, penny for your thoughts? How about 100 million pennies? School kids from all five boroughs of New York City created this penny harvest field at Rockefeller Center. There's about a $1 million worth of pennies out there right now. All of the proceeds will go to charity.
And you know, Kiran, that's right out in front of my apartment. I looked at it from the 21st floor and didn't know what it was. Now, I know.
CHETRY: Can you imagine being the one to count them? I'm sure they have some automated machine.
ROBERTS: One by one. All those pennies.
CHETRY: $1 million worth of pennies. How about it?
Well, Mike Huckabee continues to buzz. There's a new CNN opinion research poll that shows the former Arkansas governor is now in a statistical dead heat with Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani has a two-point lead on Huckabee while Mitt Romney is now trailing both in third place. This, again, is the national poll coming out from CNN's opinion research group.
CNN chief national correspondent John King live in Iowa, where both candidates will be campaigning today live in Sioux City, Iowa. Good to see you this morning. First of all, I can't believe you don't have a hat on. It is freezing there, right? We got ice warnings up around the place?
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Beautiful.
CHETRY: Oh, it's beautiful. Well, you're one to look at the bright side of things. Let me ask you about Mitt Romney. Apparently so worried about Huckabee, he's unveiling a new ad there that says, hey, listen, you know, don't be fooled by a true conservative. Look what Huckabee did in terms of his stance on illegal immigration when he was governor. How's that going to play?
KING: That's a very interesting question, Kiran, because illegal immigration is the number one issue among Iowa Republicans. And Mike Huckabee, of course, is the number one candidate in the state polls here right now, and Governor Romney is being very careful.
This is the first direct attack out of the campaign, but he's doing it very gently. The ad starts off by saying they're both former governors. They both oppose abortion. They both oppose same sex marriage. And then he goes on to say they differ on immigration.
And what Governor Romney is saying that when he was back in Arkansas, Governor Huckabee supported tuition benefits and even scholarships, tax funded scholarships for illegal immigrants and their children. It is a test of whether Romney, using that issue and using his resources, can blunt the momentum of Mike Huckabee here. But much of that momentum, Kiran, is based on a bond he is making with even evangelicals and other conservatives in the state. So it is a fascinating time. It's 23 days to go to the Iowa caucuses, and illegal immigration looks like it will be the debating point between the two frontrunners here.
CHETRY: Huckabee surging in the polls, but is the money following? And does he have the type of money to counter those type of ads?
KING: He certainly has much more money now. The money is coming in at a much faster pace now than it was if you were asking this question to me three or four weeks ago. But he does not have the depth of the resources that Governor Romney has. Governor Romney has spent millions of his own personal fortune.
What they say here in Iowa is that people aren't swayed as much by the negative ads. It's more in person campaigning. We're about to find out if that's true.
CHETRY: Let's take a look at some of the other head to head face-offs because this is interesting. The first, to include Huckabee because now he's up there in the polls. This is a former Arkansas governor losing to all contending Democratic candidates. Why are we seeing this? Huckabee not competing as well in a head to head match- up with Clinton, Obama and Edwards.
KING: That's another interesting question that could become a factor in the campaign. Because one of the big selling points for all of the Republicans, they say they're the toughest candidate to go up against Hillary Clinton or they're the toughest candidate to go up against Barack Obama. So you can be sure that people will notice those polls and say, hmmm, this is Mike Huckabee, a tough enough candidate to nominate for the fall?
What the Huckabee campaign would tell you is that because of those limited resources, he has been campaigning almost exclusively in Iowa and South Carolina, a few of the other early primary states. And national polls are tilted heavily by the big states, like California, like New York, like Texas, like Florida, the places where Governor Huckabee has had much less exposure than some of his rivals. That's what they would say.
But, Kiran, electability is one of the themes in the race. And so those poll numbers showing Huckabee running behind all the Democrats, you can be sure Huckabee's rivals won't forget about them.
CHETRY: All right. Get inside and get some gloves on. I can't believe you don't have gloves on in there. There's an ice storm going on in the area.
KING: Right now, it's just snow. When the ice comes, we'll cover up. But this is a beautiful morning.
CHETRY: All right. John King live for us in Sioux City this morning. Thanks.
ROBERTS: He's got a spring jacket on, no hat, no gloves. Better be close to the election express in Des Moines than inside.
CHETRY: The iron man.
ROBERTS: A Marshall plan for mortgages. Jesse Jackson says homeowners need more help than what the White House is offering to avoid losing their homes. Gerri Willis will be along with that coming up.
And what's the hold-up? Nearly 1 million applications for people wanting to become U.S. citizens are stacking up. It could affect the outcome of next year's presidential race. We'll tell you how. That's story and today's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Now, the mortgage meltdown. According to a new CNN poll just out this morning, 51 percent of people think that there should be special treatment for people who can't pay their mortgages and are at risk of losing their homes. Forty-six percent say they oppose special treatment.
CHETRY: Oh, Reverend Jesse Jackson is now calling on big corporations to step in and help homeowners facing foreclosure. CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis joins us with more on that. Good to see you this morning, Gerri.
GERRI WILLIS, PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Good morning, guys. Good to see you. Yes, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow Coalition yesterday met in seven cities to call on industry to step up to the plate and do something. What they're complaining about is what the Reverend Jackson calls subprime scams. Here's what he had to say on Wall Street yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW PUSH COALITION: The middle class bubble now has burst, and people are losing their homes and losing a certain amount of food and citizens losing in tax basis. Mr. Bush's plan talks about seven to 12 percent of the people, those who are current. But those in distress are not current, and they're refinancing themselves even into deeper debt. So our government cannot marginalize this issue. It has an obligation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIS: Well, the Reverend Jackson calling the president's plan a small step. He says what we really need is a Marshall plan that will take care of people that are already in foreclosure, government money to help out folks who need help. And, of course, he's making the point that this is unfairly targeting African-Americans. And the numbers show that there is a problem out there. African-Americans more than four times as likely to get those subprime loans, and you know what that means. It means higher interest rates and more fees.
ROBERTS: One of the nation's largest lenders is making some news. What's going on with Washington Mutual? WILLIS: Washington Mutual reporting that they're going to lay off 3,100 people, as many as 3,100 people. The Seattle-based company is saying that earnings are going to be negative in this quarter. Lots of bad news there.
What's interesting, though, in light of what Reverend Jackson was saying, they were circulating a memo this weekend that I got from one of my sources, they are reducing the numbers, the kinds of loans they're putting out into the marketplace. A lot of the subprime loans are going out the window. You won't be seeing those from Washington Mutual. So some of the things that Reverend Jackson is complaining about, the industry itself, is starting to contract.
CHETRY: All right. Good stuff, Gerri. Thanks so much. By the way, watch "Open House" with Gerri. She's covering the mortgage meltdown as she does every single week, on this coming edition of "Open House," which will be on 9:30 Eastern on Saturday, right here on CNN. Gerri, thanks.
ROBERTS: Don't forget the repeats, too. 3:00 Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
CHETRY: He watches all of them. He watches the first run and the repeats.
WILLIS: You are my mother. That's good to know.
ROBERTS: Oh, you might want to watch this next little bit of video with your shoes off, sprawled out on your seat, with your kid kicking the back of it. It's Delta's animated guide for fliers who have no social conscience. Check it out.
The airline produced 25 of them and posted them online to show passengers how to deal with some delicate social situations in close company. You may have met some of the chief offenders here like the "middle seater" here, who just wants to spread themselves all over the adjoining two seats.
Which brings us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question. Using Delta's characterizations, who do you think is the most annoying flier? Cast your vote at CNN.com.
Right now, 14 percent of you say it's the middleman, otherwise known as the middle seat bully. Sixty-seven percent say it's "kidtastrophe," the person with unruly children. Fourteen percent say it's the "lav dancer." That's the person who bumps into everyone on their way back and forth from the lavatory. And 6 percent say, it's the shady lady, the person who opens and closes the shade without asking everyone if she can do it first. We'll continue to tally the votes all morning.
ROBERTS: But, obviously --
CHETRY: It's a nightmare to travel with kids. It's a nightmare to travel with kids. It's a nightmare to be stuck next to them.
ROBERTS: I feel so sorry for people who have to travel with their children.
CHETRY: I try to really avoid it at all costs.
ROBERTS: It's awful.
You're watching the most news in the morning. Sloppy drunk college girls posting some unladylike pictures of themselves on the Web for millions to see. The danger in revealing a bit too much, straight ahead.
Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, over 1 million people did everything right to become legal citizens. Today, they're still not Americans and can't even vote. We're asking why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would like to be involved in this election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The fight to be a U.S. citizen ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: Lift the fog over Jacksonville, Florida this morning where it's 58 degrees. It looks like fog coming off the intercostal waterway there, probably the temperature differential because the water would be so warm, going up to a high of 75 degrees today. Thanks very much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. It's Tuesday, the 11th of December. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
We're following breaking news overseas. Two deadly car bomb blasts going off in the capital of Algeria. It's now being called a terror attack. At least 47 people reported dead in the capital city of Algiers. The U.N. refugee agency's building was one of the intended targets. A spokesman says they're taking a headcount to determine if everyone made it out alive. Those blasts hurled chunks of rubble across the roads and tore the walls off at least one building.
ROBERTS: The head of the CIA has some explaining to do. Michael Hayden will head to Capitol Hill today to answer questions by members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, the issue, the agency's decision to destroy interrogation tapes of suspected Al Qaeda leaders. The tapes apparently showed controversial interrogation techniques which some people call torture.
Ahead in our next hour, we're going to hear from the only person familiar with one of those interrogations who's talking about it, former CIA agent John Kiriakou will join us live at 8:15 a.m. Eastern time. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is holding a press conference right now. He is getting out ahead of a meeting on Iran sanctions today by members of the United Nations Security Council. Those proposed sanctions would punish the Qods force, part of Iran's revolutionary guard corps and one of Iran's biggest banks. Ahmadinejad did say at this press conference that the new United States intelligence estimates on Iran is a step forward and that more such steps would create "an entirely different situation in Iran-U.S. relations." Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, by the end of today, interest rates on your loans could be at their lowest level in two years that's if the federal reserve cuts rates today. Analysts expecting a quarter point rate cut. We'll find out for sure at 2:15 p.m. Eastern when they meet. They say that lower rates will mean more borrowing. It will spur increased spending and help the economy. Again, the fed's announcement coming at 2:15 this afternoon.
ROBERTS: Coming up on 33 minutes after the hour. Stuck on the sidelines. When America votes next year, more than 1 million immigrants are illegally here in the United States, but their citizenship papers not being processed because of all the red tape. It may keep them from voting in next year's presidential election. Our Chris Lawrence has been investigating this. He's with us now this morning from Arlington, Virginia. What have you been finding out? What's responsible for all of this, Chris?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: John, we're at a diner just about maybe ten miles from the White House where the owner definitely wants her chance to decide who gets to live there next. Her husband and kids are already U.S. citizens. She'd like to join them before the next election.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE (voice-over): More than 1 million potential voters will never cast a ballot next November. All because of a backlog in immigration applications. Sophia Alpos did everything you're supposed to. She arrived from Greece 12 years ago, got her green card, and started running a restaurant with her husband. Last summer, she paid $400 and applied for citizenship.
SOPHIA ALPOS, WAITING TO BECOME CITIZEN: I would like to be involved in this election.
LAWRENCE: But officials say it takes a year and a half to process an application. So her swearing in ceremony would be next December.
She might not make it.
MICHAEL AYTES, CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES: She might not make it. That's quite possible. It's unfortunate.
LAWRENCE: The law requires the government to grant or deny citizenship within four months of their exam. After waiting years for the FBI to finish a background check, thousands of applicants have sued the government, and some judges have granted citizenship on the spot.
AYTES: We have one - a little over 1.1 million applications pending right now.
LAWRENCE: Last summer, some applicants rushed to beat a price hike that upped the application fee by a few hundred bucks. Immigration officials told me they weren't prepared for the 600,000 people who filed all at once.
AYTES: Where this is largely going to affect us is in our ability to interview these folks.
LAWRENCE: All that extra money from the application fees is supposed to pay for updated computers and thousands of new employees, but officials admit they won't reach their goal of a five-month wait until 2010. Way too late for Sophia and millions more hoping to vote next November.
ALPOS: I'm a lady, and I love to have a lady president, the first lady.
LAWRENCE: But if nothing changes, it's a vote Senator Clinton probably can't count on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: Yes. And a lot of folks believe there are votes out there for Giuliani, Obama, a lot of other candidates as well. We're not the only ones talking about this issue. CNN has obtained a letter from Congresswoman Hilda Solis that's going to be sent to President Bush by the end of the week. It's signed by several members of Congress, calls the 18-month wait unacceptable, and asks the president whether the plan to hire thousands of new workers will be enough to break the backlog and get some of these applicants processed before those voter registration deadlines. John.
ROBERTS: So, Chris, is there anything that people like Sophia can do to speed the process up?
LAWRENCE: For most folks, the answer, unfortunately, is no. Some people have had some success using immigration attorneys, but that can get very expensive and that is not always, you know, it doesn't always work out quite so well. A lot of times those cases get kicked back to the agency, and people end up waiting anyway.
One thing some of the immigration folks we were talking say, they are in the process of opening these new training centers to try and get some of these applicants processed along, to hire these new workers. Some of those will be opening as soon as next month. But they are simply overwhelmed, there's not a lot they can do. They do tell me, though, if you've been waiting longer than 18 months, if you're case is still out there after two years or so, call the number on the bottom of your screen, it's 800-375-5283. They will take an immediate look at that situation.
ROBERTS: It would be a shame if they didn't get the opportunity to exercise their new rights as American citizens. Chris Lawrence for us this morning in Arlington. Chris, thanks. Kiran.
CHETRY: There's some new information this morning on the man responsible for two Colorado church shootings. Police say 24-year- old Matthew Murray, seen in this photo that was given to CNN by his former roommate, was responsible for the shootings, both of them. They say he was thrown out of the missionary training school, the site of the first shooting, several years ago for strange behavior, including saying he was hearing voices. Our Veronica de la Cruz has been scouring the web and joins us with what else she's found out about this young man.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN, INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've definitely found pretty angry and threatening messages. We've been scouring the web all morning, checking our affiliate KUSA's website, also, Rocky Mountain news and denverpost.com. Take a look at what we've found. The websites have been reporting Matthew Murray used the screen name nightmare child 26, posted messages in a chat room for people who break away from a fundamentalist religious lifestyle.
Before he left the first shooting, Kiran, Murray reportedly posted this message to the group, "you guys were awesome. It's time for me to head out and teach these (expletive) a lesson." He then went on to write "thanks for listening and all even though even many of you ex-pentecostals don't understand. See you all on the other side. We're leaving this nightmare behind to a better place."
Now, according to denverpost.com, Murray left behind this manifesto where this online diatribe which mirrors the one left behind by Eric Harris before the Columbine shootings. He also posted lyrics by a song by KMFDM which is an industrial rock band. Others in the chat room realized what he might be up to. One of these tried to stop him and posting this, "please don't do it. You'd only make them into martyrs and yourself into a fanatical hateful zealot in the public opinion." Then, in a message time stamped between the two shootings, Murray writes, "I'm coming for everyone soon, and I will be armed to the teeth, and I will shoot too kill. God, I can't wait till I can kill you people. All I want to do is kill and injure as many of you as I can, especially Christians, who are to blame for most of the problems in the world."
We're going to go back now to that photo that we were just looking at. This is the photo sent in by Richard Werner. He was the bunk mate who studied with him at YWAM, Youth With a Mission, back in 2002. Now, police say that Murray spent up to about five hours a day on the computer that he used to attend an online school. And they have confiscated this computer during search of the family's home. They're investigating it for further evidence. And all of those web postings we were just looking at have since been taken down. So, everything...
CHETRY: Unbelievable.
DE LA CRUZ: Everything by nightmare child 26 all taken off the web.
CHETRY: Unbelievable that he would threaten to carry this out. People would write back to him telling him not to do it in the chat rooms and not alert anybody, the authorities about what went on there.
DE LA CRUZ: And KUSA goes on to say there's another posting saying, hey, take this conversation elsewhere, take it offline because the media will end up reading this, which is kind of what is happening now. So, again, all under investigation. This is something the police are looking into.
CHETRY: Thanks, Veronica.
DE LA CRUZ: Of course.
ROBERTS: Iced out, slippery, dangerous and deadly conditions in the Midwest. When the thaw will be in full effect ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, Facebook girls gone wild. They're drunk and so proud that they post their trashed pictures online for the world to see. Why would they do it? Inside their wasted world ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: Well, it looks like it's time to hibernate. This is a ferocious looking bear frozen in time. It's actually a statue from Spencer, Oklahoma. And like just everything else across the region, it is coated in ice. So, it's fangs got a little longer there courtesy of that ice storm, Rob. 48 minutes past the hour. Rob Marciano is tracking this weather for us. How about it?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Not even the bear likes the ice? That's for sure.
ROBERTS: We seem to have a little problem.
MARCIANO: Can you hear me from over there?
ROBERTS: No. That's the unfortunate part of it.
CHETRY: Is your microphone on?
ROBERTS: Tell you what, we'll work that out.
MARCIANO: See you in a little bit.
ROBERTS: We'll get you back here. Thanks, Rob.
Party, drink way too much, pass out, take two Tylenol and post the pictures the next morning. It's becoming the thing to do in college, and some very naive girls are popping up all over social networking sites doing exactly that. Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has been looking into this. She joins us now from Atlanta. These are folks, Elizabeth, who have forgotten that the idea that the internet is forever.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN, MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's amazing, John. When I talk to these women, they're like, oh, we're just sharing these pictures with our friends for fun. I said, this is the internet. Everyone can see it but they don't seem to quite get it. Not only are they going on the internet, but they're actually forming clubs to show what it looks like when they get drunk.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN (voice-over): Dancing drunk, sloppy drunk, falling down drunk, and apparently not embarrassed. There are nearly 5,000 photos like these on a Facebook group, 30 reasons girls should call it a night. A lot of these young women post these photos themselves, often with full names and colleges attached. We decided to blur their faces since we can't be sure everyone is of legal age. The group has more than 172,000 members from around the globe. The young women pictured here seem to be celebrating binge drinking. But ignoring the very real dangers. Alcohol poisoning, date rape, and an increased risk of becoming an alcoholic.
"We know how to get drunk and have a good time" is the caption on this video. "Hammered" is the caption here. "Wow, party. I just got drunk and fell out of a car." Apparently, nothing is too embarrassing. Curious, I instant messaged one of the group's moderators, this woman. Why would you post a picture of yourself wrapped around a toilet, I asked her? "I think it's just something fun to do, she answered. Everyone's been there at some point. You need to be able to laugh at yourself."
And what about the future? She says she hopes employers will see past these photos. Apparently, a lot of other young women are hoping the same thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN: Now, what's interesting, John, when we first talked to these women, they said, oh, this is just for fun. After I chatted with them for a while, they said, oh, yeah, that's right. If a apply for a job, someone might see this. In fact, one woman actually took her pictures down after she was contacted by CNN. John.
ROBERTS: Probably a good idea. What's the role of youth in all of this? What is the latest research on youth in judgment say about it?
COHEN: You know, it's so interesting. Studies have found that brain development does not end when the body is full grown. The brain keeps going. So the brain really isn't fully developed until your mid-20s. So kids in their early 20s are still making some not very smart decisions. And people sometimes forget that because they look full grown, but really they're not.
ROBERTS: I think they obviously need to think twice and perhaps three or four times about this before they go ahead and do it. Elizabeth Cohen for us from Atlanta this morning. Elizabeth, thanks. Kiran.
CHETRY: Still ahead, the man known as five for fighting is handing out free CDs to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he's got some powerful friends to join him. We're going to talk to him coming up.
Also, terror overseas. The rising number of dead after two bomb blasts in Algeria. There are brand new details and some new video of the chaotic scene. Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: 49 minutes, actually, 50 minutes past the hour right now. If you're just joining us, here's a look at what's making headlines this morning. We start with breaking news out of Algeria. Two deadly car bomb blasts in that country's capital. At least 47 people reported dead in Algiers. The U.N. refugee agency's building was one of the intended targets. A spokesman says right now they're taking a headcount, trying to determine if everyone made it out alive.
The head of the CIA will be called to Capitol Hill today to explain why interrogation tapes were destroyed. Michael Hayden is scheduled to testify in a closed session with the Senate Intelligence Committee this afternoon. We're talking with a former CIA agent who was involved in the interrogation of a terror suspect, a key terror suspect. That's coming up in our next hour.
ROBERTS: Nine minutes now to the top of the hour. John Ondrasik, who is the singer, songwriter, who goes by the stage name Five for Fighting is best known for hits like "100 years" and "Superman." But in his latest project, he shares the spotlight with stars like Billy Joel, The Fray, Melissa Etheridge, among others. He has put together a compilation CD in honor of our troops. The CD is named "For the Troops." It's available for free for every active service member of the military and sending a bunch as well to Iraq and Afghanistan. John of Five for Fighting joins me now. Good to see you.
JOHN ONDRANSIK, FIVE FOR FIGHTING: Hey, John. How are you? Nice to see you.
ROBERTS: Good, very good. Yes, the last time I saw you was at the 9:30 Club.
ONDRANSIK: That's right.
ROBERTS: We've heard of people sending goody bags to troops to silly string to help detect trip wires. Never heard of anybody sending music to them. This is a unique and interesting idea.
ONDRANSIK: You know, about a year ago, I was asked to write a foreword and contribute a song to a group of local musicians who are sending music to Iraq. I though what a great idea. I've seen in my days how music can make a difference in morale and the mental health of our troops, and by bulk that affects their performance sometimes. So, I got on the phone and started calling some of my acquaintances in the music business.
And six months later, as you said, we got quite a lineup. Brooks and Dunn, Montgomery Gentry, Sarah McLaughlin, Josh Groban. The list goes on and on. ROBERTS: So, how readily did they accept your offer and give you a song?
ONDRANSIK: Well, some right away. Some didn't do it, you know. Melissa Etheridge was the first person to say yes. And not only did they give me songs. They gave me their biggest hits. Los lonely boys gave me "Heaven." There's a reason why I put "100 years" on there. The Fray gave me "How to Save a Life," one of their biggest songs.
ROBERTS: Billy Joel's "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant."
ONDRANSIK: I called the office and said, can I have a song? They said what song do you want? I said, my favorite song was "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant," and they said you got it.
So, it's their hits and when I go over my U.S.O. trips, the troops and their family...
ROBERTS: I was going to say, you're actively involved in the U.S.O. program. You just recently got back from Guam, Hawaii, and Japan. You did Guantanamo Bay last year. How was that experience for you? I mean, why do you get so involved, and how do the troops respond?
ONDRANSIK: Well, I think it's important that we thank our troops any way we can. The nice thing about this compilation is there's folks across the political spectrum. It's a simple gesture. For me, I'm lucky. I can go sing a song and physically shake a hand and say thank you. You know, as a song writer, I have a full appreciation for freedom of speech and as a father, you know, these folks are securing the future for my kids.
ROBERTS: So, how do the troops get a hold of the CD? You are sending hard copies to Iraq and Afghanistan.
ONDRANSIK: Right.
ROBERTS: What about other active service members?
ONDRANSIK: Any service member with a valid military I.D. can go to aafes.com.
ROBERTS: Those are the people that run the base and post p.s.
ONDRANSIK: It's like their Amazon, it's air force/army exchange. And right on their home page is "For the Troops." And you can download it for free, all active members. If for some reason you can't get it, don't have an i.d., e-mail, CD forthetroops.com, and we'll send you one and we'll make sure you get one in your hands this holiday season.
ROBERTS: One of my favorite songs of yours is "two lights," which is a song, it's a fictional song based on a real situation where a father hears a soldier has been killed in Iraq, and he can't stand to deal with the news. So he drives around all night, and he comes back in the morning, and there's two lights on the porch, he knows that his son is over there is OK. You based that on a real father and son you talked to.
ONDRANSIK: I did.
ROBERTS: The question I have for you is you do so much work for the military and you seem to be so involved in your writing. Do you consider yourself a patriot?
ONDRANSIK: I don't know, John. I, you know, I appreciate freedom. I appreciate these people who risk their lives, and they're so humble. They think they're just doing their job. They're the true patriots. I just try to shine the spotlight on them. I do love my country. I love our troops. We're a decent country. And anything we can do to support them this time of year, I think it's important.
ROBERTS: That's so great to hear. John, thanks very much. Congratulations on the project.
ONDRANSIK: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: We'll see you in a concert again soon.
ONDRANSIK: look forward to it.
ROBERTS: Take care. Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, 35 years ago this month, man set foot on the moon. Today there's a plan to go back. But how well is that plan shaping up? Can we afford to go back to the moon? We're going to talk about it.
Also, frequent flier alert. There could be less flights at one of New York's busiest airports and fewer passenger rights. More on that story as well when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
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CHETRY: Well, NASA is looking up. The space agency yesterday said it's still on track to return humans to the moon by 2020. Despite some questions about funding, Jeff Hanly, the head of the constellation program, says the plan now is to go as they can pay. They really have to be assured they have the money to make it all the way there and back. I'm sure they do. Apollo 17, the last manned mission to the moon, happened 35 years ago this month.
ROBERTS: Just keep dipping your credit card in the recession.
CHETRY: It's like subway stops. You get there eventually.
ROBERTS: Could there be fewer flights to one of New York City's busiest airports and fewer passenger rights to go along with it? How the airline industry is upping the ante.
Plus, word coming out of what made Al Qaeda suspect Abu Zubaydah crack during interrogation. Is that was on the tapes that were destroyed by the CIA? The only person who knows and willing to talk about it sits down with us. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
CHETRY: Breaking news. Carnage after back to back car bombs in Algeria. The number of dead now rising, and more on the possible intended targets.
Out of the shadows, an ex-CIA agent speaking out about the waterboarding interrogation of a terror suspect. He joins us live.
Cold hard facts, coping with a relentless ice storm.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Candles and flashlights.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Generators are doing like crazy.
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CHETRY: More than a dozen dead, more than half a million trying to stay warm across the heartland on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And welcome, it's Tuesday, December 11th. I'm Kiran Chetry. And boy, look at the Midwest covered in ice this morning.
ROBERTS: Can you imagine if those airports are re-opened they're going to have so many delays trying to get those airplanes to where they were supposed to go. All those flights were canceled. The nightmare of that. I'm John Roberts. Good morning to you.
Breaking news this morning. Terror overseas. The United Nations a target. Two deadly car bomb blasts rocked Algeria this morning. It's now being called a terror attack by authorities. At least 47 people are reported dead in the capital city of Algiers. The U.N. High Commission for Refugees building was one of the intended targets.
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