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CNN Sunday Morning
Bush Gets Ready to Announce New Iraq Strategy
Aired January 07, 2007 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR, CNN SUNDAY MORNING: "Now in the News": Avalanche dangers remain considerable west of Denver. An avalanche swept two cars off U.S. highway 40 yesterday. Eight people were in the cars, none seriously hurt. We've got a live report coming up in just a minute.
President Bush hammering out the final details of his new Iraq war strategy this weekend. Knowledgeable sources tell CNN say he may order 20,000 to 40,000 more troop into Iraq. The president is expected to announce his plan Wednesday or Thursday.
The man who could be Britain's new prime minister is speaking out on the BBC about the Saddam Hussein hanging. He's calling it deplorable. That's how he's describing -- that's how the British Treasury chief is describing that execution. He tells the BBC the hanging did nothing ease sectarian tensions in Iraq.
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CROWDS CHANTING
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BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR, CNN SUNDAY MORNING: Furious protestors, as you hear there, marching in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu this weekend. They denounce the presence of Ethiopian troops and condemn the government's plans to forcibly disarm the city. The government has announced it will postpone those plans. Meanwhile, security concerns forced a top U.S. diplomat to cancel an unannounced visit to Mogadishu today.
Check this out, some call her the peace mom and Cindy Sheehan is in Cuba to protest in front of the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay. Sheehan, along with other 11 anti-war and human rights activists, is calling for the prison to be closed. The protest, set for Thursday, marks five years since the first detainees were taken there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think of their faces. I think of their eyes. I think of how they looked at me.
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NGUYEN: A custody fight turns into an international odyssey. You will hear from the woman who fled to Canada with the twin babies she had given up for adoption. It's an interesting story. Good morning, everybody. It's Sunday, January 7th, from the CNN Center in Atlanta. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes. Thank you so much for being with us at start of your day.
NGUYEN: On the home front, and in the war zone, new strategies for Iraq. Iraq's prime minister has announced Iraqi forces will ramp up efforts to reduce the violence and disarm the militias. This as President Bush gets ready to reveal his new Iraq war strategy. Let's take you live to the White House and Correspondent Elaine Quijano.
Good morning, Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN SUNDAY MORNING: Good morning to you, Betty.
A senior Bush administration official emphasizes that still, no final decisions have been made by President Bush, just yet, on changes to his Iraq policy. But as we've been reporting for days, we know that one of the options that the president is taking a look at right now, very closely, is this idea to temporarily surge thousands of U.S. forces to help stabilize Iraq and, Baghdad, in particular.
The number that we've heard, time and time again continues to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000, perhaps, U.S. forces. One concern, though, that has been expressed by military officials and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle is that any military action, first of all have a clearly defined mission for U.S. forces; and at the same time military action, they feel, should be coupled with political and economic steps.
And on that front, "The New York Times" this morning is reporting that the plan would likely include perhaps a jobs program. Already, though, interesting to note, Democrats have pushed back hard against this idea of a troop surge, each though President Bush hasn't announced any changes just yet.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the new Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have both, in the last couple of days, expressed their opposition to the idea of a troop surge. But one senior Bush administration official, I spoke with this morning, says that the so- called surge option would simply be part of a larger strategy. And that's something to keep in mind.
But clearly with Democrats now in control of Congress they're trying to ratchet up the political pressure on President Bush.
Now, as for a timeframe on his Iraq announcement, Betty, we are expecting that still to happen this week, possibly Wednesday or Thursday -- Betty.
NGUYEN: About the timeframe, of what al-Maliki has said today, because he said that they're implementing this new strategy in Iraq with the aid of U.S. troops to really target militias. Now is that a way of, I guess, alluding to the fact that we may, indeed, hear from the president about a possible troop surge?
QUIJANO: That could possibly be the case. One thing certainly that the Bush administration has pressed the Maliki government on, is cracking down on these militias, the Shiite militias, in particular. But, of course, there is only so much that al-Maliki himself can do. The prime minister clearly, though, trying to show that he has the political will and the authority to deal with these militias.
Again, Betty, we're still hearing that the timeframe for President Bush's announcement will be Wednesday or Thursday -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Either way, we'll be watching. Thank you, Elaine Quijano at the White House.
So what do you think about a possible U.S. troop increase in Iraq? Should it happen? Does it need to happen? Will it work? E-mail us at weekends@cnn.com. We'll read your responses later in the show.
HOLMES: The man who could become Britain's next prime minister, well, he's got some harsh words for the way Saddam Hussein was executed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORDON BROWN, BRITISH TREASURY CHIEF: Now that we know the full picture of what happened, I think we can sum this up as a deplorable set of events. It is something, of course, of which the Iraqi government has now expressed its anxiety and its shame at. It has done nothing to lessen the tensions between the Shia and Sunni communities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The cell phone video of the hanging with Saddam Hussein being taunted at the gallows is all over the Internet. Brown tells the BBC even people who favor the death penalty found this completely unacceptable.
A wall of snow, that's what some motorists near Denver saw, and it was heading right for them. Luckily, everyone escaped this avalanche thanks to the quick response of rescuers. For more on this, we hear from reporter at the Berthoud Pass, Ronda Scholting.
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RONDA SCHOLTING, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CNN SUNDAY MORNING (voice over): A massive wall of snow cutting three paths down a mountain, and giving motorists below a terrifying ride they'll never forget.
The avalanche buried parts of U.S. 40 with 15 feet of snow and knocked two cars hundreds of feet down a steep slope. At least six people inside, all rescued, some even managed to crawl out on their own.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were driving along, and my passengers, like, hey, look, look, look! And we got nailed by this big old puff of white. SHOLTING: Experts tell CNN the size of the avalanche was unusual, even for the Rocky Mountains.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This avalanche, just to reach the highway, it will run almost 2,000 vertical feet just to get down to the roadway.
SHOLTING: What sent the snow sliding? A string of heavy snow storms over a short period of time, backed by abnormally high winds. There's more snow in the forecast and more wind. On Berthoud Pass, Ronda Scholting, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, photographer Pete Ferigan was on the scene of that avalanche, just within moments snapping pictures of the damage -- I want you to take a look at some of this -- and the efforts by rescuers. He spoke to Rick Sanchez a little bit earlier and we were going to roll that piece for you, in fact. But we do have Ronda live, who you just heard from, moments ago.
Ronda, talk us to about the situation there. We know no cars are still stuck underneath the snow there, from that avalanche. But, obviously, it's still a dangerous situation with the threat of more possible avalanches in the area.
SCHOLTING: That is always a threat, really, here in Colorado here during the wintertime, although it usually happens more towards spring, say February, March, when we generally get the heavy snows that we've gotten the last three weeks here. This is really extremely unusual weather for Colorado this time of year to have three heavy snow storms, basically, a week apart in December.
NGUYEN: And as far as this roadway goes, talk to us about what's being done there because this is a major thoroughfare, especially for folks trying to get up through the mountain area.
SHOLTING: It certainly is. If that avalanche had happened just a couple of hours before it did yesterday it would have caught many more cars, because the ski lifts at Winter Park Ski Resort, just over the pass, opened about 8:30 in the morning. This slide happened around 10:30, 11:00 o'clock, approximately, Mountain Time yesterday.
There would have been dozens of cars, really and hundreds of people caught up in that slide. But this is a time when just a few stragglers were kind of heading up the pass to go to the ski resort, so not as many cars, thankfully, caught in the slide.
NGUYEN: All right. Ronda Sholting joining us live with an update on the situation there in Colorado, this morning, after yesterday's avalanche.
Rhonda, of course, we appreciate all of the information you provided.
HOLMES: We'll get more information on what's happening out there, and all over the country. Reynolds Wolf is standing by with the weather for us.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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NGUYEN: Well, there are more questions than answers in South Louisiana.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was in shock. I was upset. I was angry. I was -- I just said there is no way that this was a self- inflicted wound.
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NGUYEN: Investigators are taking a second look at the mysterious death of a small town's new mayor.
HOLMES: Also, Toys "R" Us baby contest turns controversial. We'll tell you why they are being accused of being unfair.
NGUYEN: And rising fares, packed flights, long security lines. Is this the future of flying? Well our travel expert gives us the scoop on this year's travel trends.
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NGUYEN: So are you surfing the web this Sunday morning?
HOLMES: We'll check out what's the most popular with you on cnn.com. First, all bets are off as far as July 19 being the wedding date for Prince William, and his girlfriend Kate Middleton.
NGUYEN: That's not his girlfriend! That's Oprah Winfrey.
HOLMES: That's not his girlfriend. He'd be a lucky man if -- well, OK.
There we go. So many people actually flooded a British bookie with bets that the couple would wed on July 19th, but the bookie says he's no longer accepting wagers for that day.
NGUYEN: All right, now let's get to Oprah. Because you don't want to mess with her. That's a lesson an Atlanta man may be learning the hard way. He is accused of trying to exhort $1.5 million from Oprah Winfrey. The man was arrested and faces a preliminary hearing tomorrow.
HOLMES: And Toys "R" Us changing its mind after being criticized for disqualifying a Chinese-American infant from a New Year's baby contest. The prize was originally supposed to go to Yuki Lynn, who was born at the stroke of midnight, but she was disqualified because her mother is not a legal U.S. citizen.
Now each of the three babies in the grand prize pool will receive a $25,000 savings bond.
This next story also among the most popular on CNN.com. It's about the mysterious death of the first black mayor in a mostly white Louisiana town. Was the death of the Westlake's mayor a suicide or a racially motivated killing? Details now from CNN's Sean Callebs.
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MAYOR GERALD WASHINGTON, WESTLAKE, LOUISIANA: It's a great feeling to be mayor of the town where you live.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CNN SUNDAY MORNING (voice over): Gerald Washington seemed to be on top of the world with everything to live for. He'd just been sworn in as the first black mayor of Westlake, Louisiana. Then a shocking call from the sheriff that his family members still don't believe.
The 6 foot, 6, 58-year-old Washington had committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest.
GERMAINE BROUSSARD, GERALD WASHINGTON'S DAUGHER: I was in shock. I was upset. I was angry. I just said, there is no way that this was a self-inflicted wound.
CALLEBS: Their father's body was found in a remote area of Westlake. Germaine Broussard and her brother, Jerasaki (ph), don't believe the coroner's report that Washington put a revolver to his chest and pulled the trigger.
They say the sheriff's investigation was sloppy and wondered why it apparently took just over four hours to pour over the crime scene, and then cleaned and returned the truck to his family, instead of impounding it as evidence.
Coroner Terry Welke says it's difficult for families to accept suicide, but that is where all the evidence points.
TERRY WELKE, CALCASIEU PARISH CORONER: If it was a homicide there would be more injuries. In other words, he would have fought off. Someone would have tied his hands behind his back, or hit him in the back of the head, something of that sort. And the autopsy showed absolutely none of that.
CALLEBS: The sheriff's office isn't talking about the case after twice meeting with the family, the sheriff handed over all evidence to the Louisiana state police, which has taken over the investigation.
BROUSSARD: They've shown the sense of urgency that the Calcasieu's sheriff's office should have shown.
CALLEBS: The state is now performing a second autopsy, something the coroner says is almost unheard of.
And there is something else that is difficult for the family to address as the first black mayor, in an overwhelmingly white community, Washington's children believe he could have been targeted by someone out to get him.
BROUSSARD: I'm sure that race did have a good deal to do with it, but --
CALLEBS: The state NAACP has asked the U.S. Justice Department to look into Washington's death, but says it was told that the federal agency will wait until the state police investigation has wrapped up before deciding whether to weigh in.
(On camera): A makeshift memorial has cropped up near where Washington's body was found. Mourners say their hearts go out to Washington's family, a family facing nagging questions.
They say, why would he have killed himself? They believe Washington had everything to live for. The family had been asked about his gambling. They admit Washington was an avid gambler, but say that had nothing do with his death. Sean Callebs, CNN, Westlake, Louisiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Indeed, a lot of questions in that case, and we'll be following it.
In the other news we'll be telling you about, right now, Democrats are now in charge and the clock is ticking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Count a strict 100 hours from the drop of the gavel and you run out of time by Monday evening, but this is Washington, nothing here works like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: One hundred hours to get Washington moving? Can the Democrats deliver on the promise? Some political insight, that is coming up in 12 minutes
HOLMES: And are you ready to catch a flight to your favorite vacation destination? Before you jump on that plane, however, there may be a cheaper way. Travel trends ahead on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
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NGUYEN: All right. So if you are leaving on a jet plane this year you might be in for a little surprise, higher prices, packed seats, tighter security. These may be in the near future. So is it time to load up the car and just start driving to those destinations? Ben Mutzabaugh, travel reporter with USAToday.com joins us from Washington with some advice on all of this.
Good morning to you.
BEN MUTZABAUGH, TRAVEL REPORTER, USATODAY.COM: Good morning. Good to be here. NGUYEN: The first thing I want to talk about, these mergers that are in the works, maybe. At least under discussion, six of the nine major U.S. airlines could be a part of a merger this year. What is that going mean, if indeed any of it goes through, for the traveler?
MUTZABAUGH: That's right. First of all, it is still a big "if" although we've seen with the US Airways-Delta merger, some of them could actually happen at this point.
Now, what that would mean for consumers? There are a couple of things. There are pros and there are cons. Of course, the down side is any merged airline is probably going reduce capacity by taking some planes out of service, reducing something flights where they overlap with the airline they want to merge with.
NGUYEN: I gotcha, so less competition means higher prices, right?
MUTZABAUGH: Exactly. Exactly. Now, the possible upside is certain communities will get an airline that has a bigger scope, has a bigger frequent flier program to fly to more places. But again, you are talking about, for some markets, you will see fewer flights, higher fares, and possibly even the worst of all, fuller planes just after we a year when we thought it couldn't get any worse.
NGUYEN: When we think about these mergers, again, I just want to stress, it is only in discussion at this point, but you cannot ignore the fact that six of the nine largest airlines are possible in talks for a merger. Of them, which two do you say are the biggest ones to keep our eye on?
MUTZABAUGH: Given the evidence that we have right now, U.S. Airways bid for Delta is going to go ahead, and unless there's a competing bid for Delta, it's thought that United might possibly decide not to look at Continental, and look as Delta as a partner.
With the evidence we have right now, US Airways-Delta is the most likely candidate, Airtran has already made a bid for Midwest Airlines. So those are the two to keep your eye on.
Now, the wild card in all of this is, United has been the most vocal in saying they would like a merger, although their talks are farther behind everyone else's. It will be interesting to see what United does with the other mergers that have already -- possibilities that have been put in play.
NGUYEN: Yes, in the meantime, people are looking for the best deals out there. It's the beginning of a new year and they start planning their vacations and all of that. So, let's compare some prices, OK?
Say someone is going from, I don't know, Chicago to Miami. Let's look at airfares. How are they running? And how have they changed?
MUTZABAUGH: This is one of the things that's interesting. We keep telling you that there are going to be higher fares in 2007. Of course, if you look at the graphic here, you see it's a little bit cheaper this year to get a non-stop flight.
NGUYEN: It is. Why is that?
MUTZABAUGH: That's a good question. What's going happen this year? The low fares are going go away is not true. What's going to happen, however, is the lower fares are going become harder to get. What's happening is with the planes full the airlines will still offer their bargain basement fares. They need to do that to not be undercut by the rivals and to keep attracting flyers.
But, say in the past, where there might have been 20 seats or 25 seats in a given flight at that fair, now there might only be 10 or 15 seats at that given fare.
NGUYEN: Oh, I gotcha.
MUTZABAUGH: And there are fewer flights. So those fares are out there, but they'll be harder to get and you'll have to work a little harder to find them.
NGUYEN: Well, some folks who can't get them in time may opt for just, hey, I'm going hop in the car and take this long drive because it's going to be cheaper. But is it really cheaper? Yeah, we have say graphic up right now, as we compare taking a flight to say, from Amtrak, Greyhound, or just driving.
MUTZABAUGH: Right. And I mean, obviously some of them are not going to be cheaper at all.
NGUYEN: Driving is outrageous. $550?
MUTZABAUGH: With the type of gas, you know, I think we assume there that you're going to have at least one hotel stop each way. Keep in mind, that's 20 hours of driving each way, non-stop. So really a flight would take about two and a half hours. So there is a big trade off.
The flip side, though, is if you're going with a family of four and you're in the car.
NGUYEN: Gotcha.
MUTZABAUGH: Now you're dividing the $550 by four people, instead of per person.
NGUYEN: Quickly, we need to talk about this, and it's the new passport requirement. Talk us to about when that is in effect and what does it mean for travelers?
MUTZABAUGH: This is one thing the government is really worried about. Basically, any time you fly in or out of the country, starting January 23rd, you're going to need a passport. That includes Canada. That includes Bahamas. That includes Mexico and the Caribbean Islands. So, basically, these are all places that Americans could travel, previously, and just come back in with a valid photo ID. That's no longer the case.
NGUYEN: So, anywhere outside the USA, bottom line?
MUTZABAUGH: Now it is anywhere outside the USA, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, since it is the U.S. territories, you're still fine, but anywhere else, it's time to get that passport if you don't have one.
NGUYEN: And for children, the birth certificate no longer as good as gold?
MUTZABAUGH: It depends on the age. You want to check and make sure that your children, that all of them have the documentation necessary to travel. Make sure they have shots for immunizations, depending on where they're traveling. But yes, this is going to affect anyone who needed a passport prior, to go to place like Europe or Asia. Are now going to need them for the U.S.
NGUYEN: Children will need that passport, as well.
All right, Ben Mutzabaugh, with USAToday.com, thanks for the information.
MUTZABAUGH: Oh, great to be here.
HOLMES: Twin babies at the center of a custody fight.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think of their faces. I think of their eyes and how they looked at me. I think of how much -- I know they want me to hold them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The birth mother speaks out as she faces kidnapping charges. That's coming up. Plus this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody will come up and apologize to me, but Tigger. He won't be a man about it, and get out of the costume and come out and apologize to my son.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: What? Tigger the Tiger is not being a man about it? You know, Winnie-the-Pooh's pal at Disney World? What is going on? Somehow Tigger is in hot water this morning. We'll tell you why the dad is so upset, ahead on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
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NGUYEN: "Now in the News": Two more American soldiers were killed in Iraq this weekend. The military says they were killed in separate attacks southwest of Baghdad, and in Anbar Province. That brings to 3,008 the number of U.S. troops killed since the war began. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWD CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: That's the sound of outrage. Protestors marching in Somalia's capitol of Mogadishu this weekend. The denounced the presence of Ethiopian troops and they condemn the government's plan to forcibly disarm the city. The government has announced it will postpone those plans. Meanwhile, security concerns forced a top U.S. diplomat to cancel an unannounced visit to Mogadishu, today.
There are more warnings about possible avalanche danger in Colorado and this comes in the wake of yesterday's collapse that swept two cars completely off a mountain road. Eight people had to be rescued.
Check this out, power crews working overtime near Seattle trying to get the lights back on. A powerful storm swept through the area and knocked out power to nearly 150,000 homes, but now only about 15,000 are still without power.
HOLMES: House Democratic leaders plan to pass six major pieces of legislation in just a hundred hours of legislative floor time and the clock starts ticking Tuesday. CNN's Tom Foreman reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NANCY PELOSI, HOUSE SPEAKER: The House will come to order.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One-hundred hours to introduce, discuss, and pass legislation. One-hundred hours to get Washington moving. Like school kids back from break, the Democrats have sharpened their pencils and say they're ready to work. Is a hundred hours enough time? Maybe, according to longtime capital watcher Norman Ornstein.
NORMAN ORNSTEIN, American ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: What the Democrats have done is to set out a number that will sounds like it's going to be a rush of time, but what is actually a fairly long time to process and pass six narrowly-defined bills with no amendments.
FOREMAN: Count a strict 100 hours from the drop of the gavel and you run out of time by Monday evening, but this is Washington, nothing here works like that. The Democrats are launching their hundred-hour push on Tuesday and counting only the hours that Congress is in session. Those hours have dwindled dramatically in recent years as politicians have abandoned the halls of Congress to spend more time raising money and campaigning for re-election, long-time politicians don't like it.
TOM DASCHLE, FMR SENATE MINORITY LEADER: Senator Lott and I used to joke that if we wanted everybody here or every important vote the only time we could actually schedule it was Wednesday afternoon. FOREMAN (on camera): This new congress is promising to get back to something more like a full workweek, but can they make that or anything else stick?
(voice-over): The Republican president has a veto pen and the Democratic edge over Republicans in the Senate is much smaller.
SEN HARRY REID (D), MAJORITY LEADER: We know from experience the majorities come and they go. Majorities are very fragile and majorities must work with minorities to make that lasting change.
ORNSTEIN: The fact is the House wants to act now. The Senate wants to act some time in the future.
FOREMAN: So even without engaging Iraq right away, the Democrats have their work cut out, 100 hours to show if Washington is seeing real change or just a shift change.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: A hundred hours, may be a challenge, is Congress up to it? We'll recap the week in politics now. Joining us this morning from Washington is John Mercurio with the National Journal's "The Hotline."
Always a pleasure to have you here, sir.
JOHN MERCURIO, NATIONAL JOURNALS "THE HOTLINE": Good to see you, Tony -- T.J.
HOLMES: A lot of people keep doing this to me.
(LAUGHTER)
MERCURIO: It's the "T."
HOLMES: No worries, man. Well, tell me first, a hundred hours sounds impressive even though it's longer than people may think. So it is it possible to get this done?
MERCURIO: Well, I mean, they've already made few changes. We saw the changes in the ethics rules last week in the House, that was a relatively big deal and I think you are going to see the Democrats able to pass out a minimum wage bill, the problem -- and a few other piece of legislation -- the problem becomes that once those pieces of legislation leave the Hill they head to a Republican White House and the president is more than likely to take out his veto pen, something he has rarely, rarely done during the first six years of his administration, send those bills back to the House and to the Senate for more of a compromise that he's expecting, I think, the Democrats and the Republicans, in Congress, to take care of.
I think the big issue, though, that we have not seen Democrats exert any influence over the president on remains the issue of the war in Iraq. I mean, a lot of voters went to the polls in November with that issue, the war in Iraq, as their major issue. They wanted Democrats to send a message to this White House and as I think we're going to see this week -- later this week when the president issues his troop surge announcement, that's an issue that Democrats have not been able to really effect much change on yet.
HOLMES: It's critical for the Democrats right now, with this hundred hours. They need to show the public something at this point. They can't just mess around, so they've got to get something through and show the United States citizens that in fact you put us here and we are getting something done. That is crucial right now, isn't it?
MERCURIO: It's exactly right, because -- and frankly, I think, you know, the publics' interest and the novelty of this Democratic Congress and this, you know, female House speaker and the new Senate majority leader, is really going to wane after a few weeks, if not month, if not weeks. And you know, the media's interest will as well.
The presidential race is already sort of gathering steam. I think a lot of the attention is going to start focusing on the 2008 campaign trail pretty soon, so they really have only a very, very short window of time to make a firm impression on voters' minds.
HOLMES: All right, one more thing I want to touch on with the Congress before we got to, of course talk about Obama and Giuliani, got to get that in there. But, about changing the tone. We heard Pelosi say we're going to treat the Republicans better than they treated the Democrats. Not exactly happening so far, is it?
MERCURIO: Not exactly happening so far. She has done a few things that haven't really been noticed, though. She issued a few administrative changes. She's providing a generous severance package to a lot of the Republican staff members who were losing their jobs. She isn't firing as many people as the Republicans did when they came into Congress in 1995. That hasn't gathered as much attention, I don't think, as the fact that the Republicans have been excluded for making amendments to this legislation that's being introduced, but you're right. I think the general tone that she is setting, at this point, is one of, you know, look, we're in charge now and we're going make the rules. And I think you're right, that might be a tactical mistake in the long term.
HOLMES: OK, '08 politics, before we let you go. Barack Obama and senator -- popular, everybody loves him. He did drugs? What? That doesn't sound right. Now, it was in his book, just people are paying attention to it now, one of his first writings from, really, 10 or so years ago. Is that going to hurt him, now that he did admit, but now he's in the spotlight. It's different.
MERCURIO: Sure, well. I mean, this actually, this drug use came up during his Senate race in 2004 and he dealt with it very, very straightforwardly and it actually had very little impact on the Democratic primary, which was really -- the Democratic primary is really the only competitive race he's ever run so far in his political career. Look, no, I think he has a very straightforward answer on the issue of drugs. It was something like 20 years ago that he did drugs. So, I think we've seen over the past that politicians are able to get beyond it if they're straightforward and use sort of, you know, quasi answers like "I didn't inhale."
HOLMES: All right, real quick, is it going to hurt Giuliani -- his entire playbook is out there now, it was leaked. His whole -- everything you can imagine, a very important document has been leaked. How bad does that hurt him?
MERCURIO: I -- you know, frankly, I read that story last week, I thought it was much ado about nothing. No offense to the "New York Daily News" who made a big deal of it. I think Giuliani survives.
HOLMES: All right, that works. Again, Joseph Mercurio with the...
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Just kidding, man. It's John.
MERCURIO: T.J.
HOLMES: It's John, just kidding, of course, good to see you.
MERCURIO: Good to see you, too.
HOLMES: You take care, we'll see you, buddy.
NGUYEN: I won't continue and call you Veronica, don't worry about that. Nicole Lapin from CNN Pipeline is here with what's coming up this week in politics which we heard a little bit about, just minutes ago.
NICOLE LAPIN, CNN PIPELINE: Yeah, thanks, Fred.
(LAUGHTER)
LAPIN: OK, yeah, those first 100 hours start on Tuesday and then we're going to -- stop this -- and then they end next Thursday, of course, and since this is the first time, in 12 years, the Dems have control, they're really shooting for the moon. Here are some of the things the Dems are planning in those seven days.
From security voting in a couple of days to implement the recommendation was 9/11 Commission to healthcare, voting this week on a prescription drug plan and also more votes on minimum wage and oil subsidies are slated for the first 100 hours.
So, you can see what the Dems want you can also see online what President Bush wants, but what do you want? We've been asking readers to chime in with your own thoughts to our questions: What should Congress do? All you have to do is log on to CNN.com/exchange to send us your opinions and as you can imagine, we've been getting a ton of responses, so far. A lot on the war in Iraq like this one -- we just got this one in and I wanted to just share it with you. It's from the U.K.
Robert writes in, that he says, "Stop spending money on the war." So, Iraq certainly a big issue a lot of people are talking about, but keep them coming because it's going to be a very busy week on Capitol Hill.
NGUYEN: It sure is, Nicole. We appreciate that.
LAPIN: Sure.
HOLMES: Well, a recent medical story we brought you is stirring a lot of interest. We want to follow up on it now. Two weeks ago we interviewed Dr. Lee Dellon, a plastic surgeon who developed a surgical technique to decompress pinched nerves. His innovative approach has helped some patients with diabetes regain feeling in their feet, it's also prevented some from potential foot amputation. Many of you have e-mailed us, wanted to know how to contact Dr. Dellon. Going to give that information to you there now. As you see on your screen, it's delloninstitutes.com, the number there, as well, 877-dellon1. Just wanted to pass that along to you because it did generate so much interest.
NGUYEN: Another story that is generating a lot of interest, breaking her silence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALLISON QUETS, TWINS BIOLOGICAL MOTHER: I just want to focus on the kids. I'm hoping to be able to see them again as soon as possible. I'm praying for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Up next, hear what the biological mom at the center of the kidnapped twins custody fight has to say, plus this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JERRY MONACO, JR, TANGLED WITH TIGGER: I had my arm around his back like a side hug. That was it. And no provoking at all, you know? It was just all out of the blue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: OK, a fight at school? How about a neighborhood brawl? Oh, no. An incident with Tigger at Disney world. Are you kidding me? It's the truth. We have the gritty details straight ahead?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: A few stories making news "Across America" for you, today. Police investigating the death of University of Southern California kicker, Mario Danelo. His body was discovered at the foot of a cliff near Los Angeles, yesterday. CNN affiliate KABC tells us there will be a homicide investigation team in place this morning. Mario Danelo is the son of former NFL kicker Joe Danelo. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said, "I'm going burn this place" and he said, "You can stay or leave, but I'm going to burn it."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Police say a man walked into a Richmond, California, catholic church and announced he was going torch the place. The choir was practicing at the time, but everyone got out safely. The fire destroyed a nativity scene, some carpeting, and caused extensive smoke damage. Authorities say the suspect could be facing arson charges.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JERRY MONACO, SR, FATHER: You don't come here for this, you know? I mean, Disney is supposed to be a safe place, it's supposed to be a place that you come and you enjoy time with your family. How hard did he hit you?
JERRY MONACO, JR: Pretty hard. I can -- he hit me pretty hard, I can still feel it even though he was wearing the padded gloves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: They are talking about an unfortunate altercation with Tigger. Yes, that bouncing tiger from Winnie-the-Pooh fame. He's also one of the many life-sized characters walking around Walt Disney World. The New Hampshire dad says the man in the Tigger suit hit his son during a harmless photo-op. We don't know if it was a back paw or open paw, smack, we don't know. Police are actually looking at home video right now. Meanwhile, Tigger has been suspended by Disney or at least the guy that's in the suit -- the Tigger suit.
NGUYEN: That is serious investigation going in that case.
HOLMES: It is.
NGUYEN: Let me tell you.
HOLMES: It is, Betty. OK.
NGUYEN: All right, let's move on. A custody fight, an international odyssey, now the mother accused of kidnapping her 17- month-old twins and taking them to Canada, breaks her silence. Allison Quets says she plans to fight to regain custody of those twins. In an exclusive interview with the "Ottawa Citizen" newspaper, Quets talked about the legal ordeal she faces, but she says her focus is on the children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUETS: Think of their faces. I think of their eyes and I think of how they look at me. I think of how much I know they want me to hold them, and I can't because I'm not there. Yeah.
ANDREW THOMPSON, OTTAWA CITIZEN REPORTER: So are you going go back on Monday to the United States?
QUETS: Yes.
THOMPSON: Do you know right now any idea of what's going to happen as soon as you get back there? I know you had mentioned that you had planned to fight -- continue your legal fight, your custody fight and face whatever charges might come up.
QUETS: Yes. I've retained a lawyer, so the lawyer is handling all of the arrangements in terms of, you know, what happens on the states side. I know I'll be crossing the border Monday morning and that's pretty much all of the information I have, right now. I don't really need to know more than that right now. I really don't want to think a lot about those things. I just want to focus on the kids. I am hoping to be able to see them again as soon as possible, I'm praying for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Now, earlier this morning I spoke to Andrew Thompson about his exclusive interview. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Let's try to get a read on the person here because Allison Quets, it's been widely reported, that she suffers from postpartum depression or she did when she gave up her children for adoption. Is this a woman, you spoke with yesterday -- we're showing video of that right now -- who appears to still be suffering from the illness?
THOMPSON: Well, certainly she was very emotional yesterday compared to -- I was in court this week, during her court appearances and certainly she looked a lot healthier, a lot stronger yesterday than she did this week while she was still in police custody, and certainly, showing those home videos of her with her kids, she was smiling. Her face was beaming and certainly, everything that she said yesterday kept going back to this issue of her children. She kept repeating the fact that they had bonded, that the kids loved her and that they really couldn't stand to be apart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Quets plans to return to the tomorrow and turn herself into authorities. As for the twin, Tyler and Holly, well they have been returned to their adoptive parents in North Carolina. They were found with Quets last month, after she failed to return them to the couple on Christmas Eve.
HOLMES: Well, we want to borrow a line from the Beatles, now. And Betty...
NGUYEN: Are you going to sing it?
HOLMES: "All you need is love." That's all you really need. NGUYEN: I need a little bit of that and maybe some stamps. And we'll show you why fans of the Fab Four will be saying please, Mr. Postman, next in the "WaterCooler."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: How are you doing? We're going to talk to Howard Kurtz. He's in Washington. (INAUDIBLE) We're having a good time in Atlanta. What's going on?
NGUYEN: Good morning.
HOLMES: Somebody's having a good time.
HOWARD KURTZ, RELIABLE SOURCES: As Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats take control on Capitol Hill is the press going easy on them compared to the way Tom DeLay were covered?
The Saddam Hussein hanging video, will they ever stop playing and why are some conservatives charging that journalists who criticized the execution are sympathetic to the dictator?
Plus, a conversation with Gerry Ford's press secretary and a triple X feature. We'll talk to the "New York Times" reporter who got up close and personal in writing about the porn business, all ahead on RELIABLE SOURCES.
NGUYEN: Can't wait, Howard. Thank you for that.
And RELIABLE SOURCES comes up at 10:00 Eastern today, followed by Wolf Blitzer and LATE EDITION at 11:00, and THIS WEEK AT WAR at 1:00. So, stay tuned to CNN as we go in-depth into the stories of the day.
All right, folks, time now to take a quick break on to our "WaterCooler."
HOLMES: And as you know, now is when we get you caught up on some of the more unusual news items that you may have missed. First, some of you may think "Beefeater" is a brand of gin, but it is also, of course, the name of these fellows, the red and black ceremonial guard of London.
NGUYEN: He looks like a beefeater, all right.
HOLMES: Oh, poor guy.
NGUYEN: He looks nice in his outfit. I'm just saying. I'm just saying.
HOLMES: Go ahead, go ahead.
NGUYEN: Yeah, let me go ahead and try to make up for this. This summer will end 522 years of tradition for the Beefeaters, as they call them, and they're accepting, get this, T.J., their first female member. HOLMES: No word if she looks like a beefeater as well. The woman who has not been publicly identify is still fulfilling her fulfilling her military duties. And by the way, the "Beefeaters" mostly function as tour guides at the tower, these days.
NGUYEN: Like a happy gentleman, there.
Well, would you let your teenage son sail solo across the Atlantic? Would you? This 14-year-old from Britain just became the youngest person to accomplish that feat.
HOLMES: This is Mike Perham who arrived in Antigua Wednesday after navigating the open ocean for six week. For the record though, dad wasn't far behind. He was followed in a boat, just in case upon.
NGUYEN: Ah, I can understand that.
And please, Mr. Postman, get me some of the Beatles stamps. Britain's royal mail will honor six Beatles albums as postage stamps.
HOLMES: Here they are. Can you name some of the albums? Some of you probably have them. "With the Beatles," "Revolver," "Help," "Sergeant Pepper's," "Abby Road," "Let it Be." There you have them.
NGUYEN: You knew all of that.
All morning long we've been asking for your thoughts on this e- mail question. Here it is: What do you think about possible U.S. troop surge in Iraq? And here are some of those responses.
Sally from Lexington, Kentucky says: "My husband and I are angry about a possible surge. Our son, who has already served on tour in Iraq has received his orders to go back to Baghdad. It terrifies me. The insurgents will just wait us out while soldiers die and money is thrown away depleting our armed services."
HOLMES: Up next here, it says: "I'm a Purple Heart veteran from Iraq returned early last year. I fully believe in a surge. There's not much of an option left. Yes, there will be casualties, but not as many as if we did as if we did from the beginning." This comes from John in Columbus, Ohio.
NGUYEN: And this from an anonymous person in Germany. This person writes, "I am a soldier and I believe the surge to be a horrible idea. I have been to Iraq twice...anyone who does not think this is a real war should look up the casualty numbers for this war. Not just the death toll and tell me that this price is worth the payoff."
And again, we appreciate all your responses to our e-mail questions. We'll have another one for you next weekend.
HOLMES: And we do want to check in one more time with our Reynolds Wolf who's had his eye on the weather all morning.
Hello again, sir. (WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: All right, Reynolds, we appreciate it. Thank you.
HOLMES: Thank you, Reynolds.
NGUYEN: RELIABLE SOURCES is next followed by LATE EDITION and THIS WEEK AT WAR. So, don't go anywhere.
HOLMES: And of course, we have the day's top stories right after a short break.
NGUYEN: Have a good day, everybody.
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