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CNN Saturday Morning News
Terrorist Cell Preparing to Bomb Sears Tower or Inept, Disorganized Group of Big Talkers?; Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta Resigns; North Korea Test Launch Possibly Prepared; Gay Marriage Outside the U.S.
Aired June 24, 2006 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They need to get the person that made the allegations to the Feds, they need to get him. But Sonny does not have anything to do with it.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son, he don't have a heart to kill people.
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ALBERTO GONZALES, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: They hoped for their attacks to be "just as good or greater than 9/11."
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MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: Real terror threat or FBI trap?
Fears of homegrown terror and new security concerns.
We'll take you to Washington live in just a moment.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, good morning.
I'm Melissa Long in for Betty Nguyen.
This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone.
I'm Tony Harris.
Thanks for being with us.
LONG: And now in the news this morning, more on that alleged terror plot.
The federal government says seven men arrested this week were more wannabes than actual terrorists. But that was enough to bring criminal charges. Six of them appeared in court yesterday.
New details of the alleged plot and what their families have to say coming up in a live report just a couple of minutes from now.
The Bush White House is furious over news reports disclosing a powerful secret tactic in the war on terror. Several large newspapers ran stories about how the Treasury Department has been using international banking records to track down terror suspects. Administration officials say the reports tipped off terrorists to an investigation technique they didn't know about.
In Saudi Arabia, six militants and at least one policeman were killed in a dramatic shootout today in the Saudi capital. Riyadh police surrounded a home to thwart what they called an imminent terrorist attack. Authorities also report arresting 40 suspected militants in raids all across the country.
HARRIS: In Iraq, Sunni political leaders are demanding that the U.S. military release a 70-year-old Sunni sheikh. The sheikh and his two sons were taken into custody today in Tikrit.
Sunnis have condemned their detention as foolish and outrageous. The U.S. military says it is looking into it.
The man who fought former Playmate Anna Nicole Smith over his father's oil fortune has died. The family of E. Pierce Marshall says he died unexpectedly this week from an aggressive infection. Marshall's father married Smith when he was 89 years old and she was 26. The legal battle over his estate went all the way to the Supreme Court.
And in Hollywood, the entertainment industry is mourning the passing of one of its primary movers and shakers. Legendary producer Aaron Spelling died last night, less than a week after suffering a massive stroke. Spelling was behind some of the biggest television shows of the past three decades, including the long-running prime time soap "Dynasty." Aaron Spelling was 83.
LONG: And this just in to CNN, reports this morning that Andre Agassi says he's ready to hang up his racket. The tennis star announced today that he will retire after this year's U.S. Open in August. He will play Wimbledon next week, his first trip there in three years, but apparently, again, his last.
HARRIS: Well, the 36-year-old Agassi has won eight grand slam singles titles in his career. What a career. He is one of only five players to win all four grand slam events. We call that the career slam.
LONG: The word from law enforcement, they have the will, if not the way. Federal authorities say seven terror suspects didn't have the money nor the weapons, but insist their alleged plot of blowing up the Sears Tower in Chicago was real.
Six of the accused appeared in court yesterday.
CNN's Kyung Lah is joining us now live from Washington with the latest on this case -- good morning.
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Melissa.
A terrorist cell preparing to bomb the Sears Tower or an inept, disorganized group of big talkers? Those are the two portraits being painted by defense and prosecution. Authorities say they broke up the cell before it could act.
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SUPT. PHIL CLINE, CHICAGO POLICE: What this investigation illustrates is that law enforcement officials at the federal and local levels have taken aggressive steps to thwart and disrupt the potential for a terrorist attack to be executed. The bottom line is none of these plans materialized.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH: The federal government says they made the bust of the seven suspects just in time. The indictment says they tried to acquire weapons and bombs and wanted to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and government offices in five cities.
The attorney general says the men came to view their home country as the enemy. Federal agents made the busts on the Miami warehouse in an impoverished neighborhood in the city on Thursday. Agents did not find any weapons or bomb making materials at the warehouse.
Five of the seven suspects appeared in the U.S. district court in Miami yesterday. They told the court they don't have any money, not even enough to pay for an attorney. Many did not have jobs. One worked part-time at Abercrombie & Fitch, according to news reports. The men called their group the Seas of David, a regimented group that avoids meat and alcohol and tries to better themselves.
Family members say the government has it wrong.
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JIMMY HARDY, PUBLIC DEFENDER: Those are only charges. It's up to the government to prove they're guilty of them and we have to find that out after the government puts up their evidence. Right now, we have an innocent man who the government alleges attending a meeting where evidently the only person connected with al Qaeda was the informant for the FBI.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's back up.
CHARLENE LEMORIN, SUSPECT'S WIFE: The only thing is...
(CROSSTALK)
LEMORIN: ... all the allegations against -- going toward him is false. That's all I have to say.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LAH: Florida officials describe the group's plans as aspirational rather than operational, but the attorney general says that is precisely the time to break up terror cells -- Melissa.
LONG: Kyung Lah, in the past, you covered the case, the sting out in Lodi, California.
There seem to be some parallels between the two cases.
LAH: It certainly seems so, when you look through both of the indictments and you lay them side by side. The is using something called a government informant. Now, we don't know very much about this particular government informant, but it certainly raises questions, because in the Hamid Hayat trial in Lodi, that government informant, the defense pronounced on that informant, saying that they were paid an exorbitant amount of money. Even the government paid for a new car try to get this information out of the Hayats.
LONG: Kyung Lah live in Washington this morning.
Kyung, thank you.
LAH: You bet.
HARRIS: And stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable information on your safety and security.
LONG: Checking other news around the country, this morning he gave us, among other programs, "Love Boat."
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UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: ... Named Valentine who disagreed and secretly married hundreds and hundreds of young lovers.
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LONG: Producer Aaron Spelling is credited with more than 200 television series and films. Spelling passed away Friday after suffering a stroke last weekend. He was 83.
From California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says no to the Bush administration request to send an extra 1,500 National Guard troops to the Mexican border. He's already sending 1,000. The governor says sending anymore would stretch the California Guard too thin.
HARRIS: Arizona's excessive heat has claimed a young victim. An autopsy confirms a 10-year-old Tucson boy died of severe heat exposure. Authorities say he was inside the rear cargo area of a broken down SUV on a neighbor's property. Investigators say the cargo area was caged and had no locks or latches. Temperatures in Tucson lately have been reaching into the low 100s.
Talk about an open house, this is one for the history books. Literally, the cabin made famous by Harriet Beecher Stowe in her book, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," will open its doors to the public for the first time in just three hours. The cabin had been owned by a private family until earlier this year.
Another Bush cabinet member calls it quits, a man who has served two different administrations.
White House correspondent Elaine Quijano joins us live with that and more on the president's day planner -- Elaine, good morning.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony.
That's right, Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta has submitted his resignation letter to President Bush. He'll be stepping down after serving this president for five-and-a-half years.
Now, Mineta has had some serious back troubles in recent years, but his spokesman has said that health problems did not drive him from the job. Now, he is the only Democrat serving in the Bush cabinet.
The 74-year-old has had a long career in public service. In 1971, when he became mayor of San Jose, California, he became the nation's first Asian-Pacific American mayor of a major city.
He served in the House of Representatives for 20 years and he was secretary of commerce under President Clinton.
Now, White House Spokesman Tony Snow said Mineta had not been forced out of his position and said the president was happy with Mineta's performance.
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TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: As Transportation Secretary, he cut regulation and red tape to liberalize the commercial aviation market. Obviously, he established the Transportation Security Administration, helped shape the highway bill, has been working on highway safety and increasing seatbelt use, trying to introduce financial discipline and sound economic principles to our passenger rail system.
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QUIJANO: Now, as for Mineta's personal background, as a child, he and his family, of Japanese descent, were actually sent to an internment camp during World War II. And then some 40 years later, Mineta helped push legislation through Congress apologizing for the internment and providing compensation for those who were interned.
Now, Mineta leaves his post in early July.
In a statement, President Bush said that Mineta served with integrity, dedication and distinction.
No word yet, Tony, on a possible replacement -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK, CNN's White House correspondent, Elaine Quijano.
Elaine, thank you.
And for complete coverage of breaking news and today's top stories, stay with CNN, the most trusted name in news.
LONG: North Korea might be ready to test launch a long range ballistic missile any time. Reaction from the Bush administration coming up in about three minutes.
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HARRIS: Hey, just a quick reminder of our e-mail question.
It's time for you to send in your responses.
Here's the question -- how big a threat is homegrown terror?
Well, you'll need the address. There it is -- Weekends@CNN.com.
And we'll read your responses in just a little bit here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
We'll be right back.
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HARRIS: So it could come down to missile/counter-missile between North Korea and the United States. It's not yet clear what North Korea plans to do, but the U.S. is getting ready.
CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, has that story.
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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. military believes North Korea has completed preparations for the test launch of its Taep'o-dong 2 long range ballistic missile. The Pentagon has completed its preparations, as well.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has signed orders detailing how the U.S. would try to shoot down the missile if it appeared on an attack trajectory for the U.S. U.S. spy satellites and radars are already watching. If there is a North Korean launch, there will be just minutes to tell President Bush.
DONALD RUMSFELD, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The president would make a decision with respect to the nature of the launch and whether it was threatening to the territory of the United States or not.
STARR: The president will have to almost instantly decide whether to order a shoot down. The U.S. has 11 missiles it could use to try to intercept the Taep'o-dong. Only North Korea knows if it will conduct the launch and whether the missile will carry a warhead. In a CNN interview, Vice President Cheney offered a clue that the missile may have enough boosting power to launch a satellite.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a first test of this particular Taep'o-dong 2 missile. We believe it does have a third stage added to it now, but again, we don't know what the payload is.
STARR (on camera): The Bush administration has already drafted three versions of a public statement to be used if there is a North Korean missile launch. One says there was a launch and it was just a test. Another statement says there was a launch, it was an attack and the U.S. felt it had to shoot the missile down. The third storms says there was a launch, it was an attack and the U.S. failed to shoot it down.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: We're going to check on the forecast now.
The Western part of this country is so parched and there are other areas that just can't seem...
HARRIS: Like where?
LONG: Like where?
HARRIS: Like...
LONG: Arizona.
HARRIS: Well, that, yes, parched. But I'm wondering, what are some of the other areas that are actually getting more rain than they need right now and maybe could shift?
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HARRIS: We're going to check in at the Dot-Com Desk.
Veronica de la Cruz joins us -- what are you working on, Veronica?
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we have...
HARRIS: Good morning to you.
DE LA CRUZ: Good morning.
Hey, say, you just got back from vacation.
HARRIS: Yes.
DE LA CRUZ: Mexico, I hear. HARRIS: A little, a trip. I took the family, the family unit, down to Mexico.
DE LA CRUZ: Did you bring me back a sombrero?
HARRIS: Not a sombrero but I have a little tequila, a little tequila.
DE LA CRUZ: Oh.
LONG: Not during work hours.
DE LA CRUZ: That's even better.
(CROSSTALK)
DE LA CRUZ: That's even better.
All right, well, you guys know that we have thousands of videos online at CNN.com and I'm sure you're curious as to what people are clicking on.
HARRIS: Yes.
DE LA CRUZ: Of course. So we have those details coming up next on the Dot-Com Desk.
HARRIS: Good enough.
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LONG: After you fluff up the pillows, make your bed this morning, if you look under the bed, you might find, what?
HARRIS: Oh, scary.
LONG: Some storage boxes, old magazines.
DE LA CRUZ: Old socks.
LONG: Dust. Lots of dust, probably.
DE LA CRUZ: Socks.
HARRIS: Really?
DE LA CRUZ: I'm always, yes, and I throw the other sock out and then, you know, and then I have one sock again.
LONG: I find cat toys.
HARRIS: Really?
LONG: Yes.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes. HARRIS: I've got a few body parts.
LONG: No.
DE LA CRUZ: What!
HARRIS: But a woman in Washington got the shock of her life.
Veronica is here from the Dot-Com Desk to explain what's most popular online.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes, you guys. This one is definitely going to want to make you check underneath the bed before you go to sleep next time.
Carlos Fierria (ph) is headed to prison for three years for stalking a woman and secretly videotaping her. Police say he set up a hidden camera in the woman's bedroom, but ended up recording himself diving underneath her bed.
HARRIS: Oh, boy.
DE LA CRUZ: Her boyfriend found him there two days later. Fierria had allegedly been stalking the woman for some time. He was a valet where she worked, which gave him access to her keys.
LONG: Wow!
DE LA CRUZ: Yes.
All right, Melissa, how is this for the perfect man? He doesn't just vacuum, he steam cleans and he washes the kitchen floor before he goes to work.
LONG: Yes!
HARRIS: Oh, come on. You make it tough for all of us. Oh, man.
DE LA CRUZ: Joe Molnar loves to clean, so much so that his wife entered him into a contest. So, meet Mr. Good Housekeeping. Joe won over 7,000 other men. When his wife was asked if he was ever tough to live with, her answer, no. And he's not obsessive. He just really likes to clean.
LONG: He's from Lancaster, New York, near my hometown.
DE LA CRUZ: He sure is. Yes.
And, you know, I'm sure...
LONG: He's not available, though, right? He's off the market?
DE LA CRUZ: I'm sure he took a...
HARRIS: Melissa.
DE LA CRUZ: ... good ribbing from his guy friends. But he also won like a plasma TV and some cash, so.
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes, yes. Make it bad for everyone else so you can win a TV.
LONG: Yet, how do you -- how do you compare to that gentleman?
HARRIS: Nah...
DE LA CRUZ: Yes, exactly.
HARRIS: Me?
LONG: Yes.
HARRIS: In terms of being fastidious and all ...
(CROSSTALK)
DE LA CRUZ: That is the perfect man.
LONG: In terms of helping out around the house.
HARRIS: What is that? What -- define that, helping.
DE LA CRUZ: All right, guys, CNN.com/video.
I'm letting you off the hook here, Tony.
HARRIS: Appreciate you.
LONG: Thanks, Veronica.
HARRIS: Let's get to our e-mail question of the day.
Your response has been wonderful so far.
We've been asking you this morning how big a threat is homegrown terror?
Joe writes: "I am an 81-year-old World War II veteran and fortunate enough to have a vivid memory of the Joseph McCarthy era. Back then, it was looking for a red under the bed. Now it is someone who aspires to be a terrorist."
LONG: Kyle writes in from Canada: "Homegrown terror leads you to not only fear the terrorist, but to fear your system of government that allowed them or caused them to become terrorists." He says: "What is it that we are doing or not doing to make them become this angry at their own country?"
HARRIS: And there you go.
Thank you for your responses so far.
Still some time to get your thoughts in.
How big a threat is homegrown terror?
There's the address, Weekends@CNN.com.
More of your responses next hour.
LONG: "OPEN HOUSE" is straight ahead.
Gerri Willis has some high tech toys to help you to keep an eye on your home, your family, even the doggie.
HARRIS: And the next hour, war over words. Oprah's stance on hip-hop seems to be getting crisscrossed. That's -- what's the mixed message all about? That's at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.
LONG: But first, CNN continues its year long look into the future, your future.
This month, we focus on the future of the family. And today we're talking about gay marriage. It's a seemingly endless debate in the U.S.
CNN's Miles O'Brien shows us what's happening across the pond.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK: It's not until you find the right person that you realize OK, this is how it's supposed to be.
GARY: Nick and I have been together for eight years. We bought a house together. We became a normal married couple in my mind. We're going to do everything married couples do, whether it's banned or not. So it really comes down to legal and financial aspects of it and a civil union obviously would be wonderful. If that's the baby step that I get to see in my lifetime in the South, that's great.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Nick (ph) and Gary (ph) live in Georgia, where the law does not allow for gay marriages or civil unions. In the U.S. only seven states and the District of Columbia recognize any sort of same-sex unions.
But overseas, it is a different story.
(voice-over): Lee Badgett, research director at the Williams Institute, a sexual orientation think tank, studies gay marriage outside the U.S.
LEE BADGETT, WILLIAMS INSTITUTE: Now we're starting to see the more conservative countries -- Germany, France, Spain lets same-sex couples marry; Italy, Ireland; I mean countries that are very tied to the Catholic Church are considering this.
The change has been very rapid in the last five years.
M. O'BRIEN: Badgett says same-sex unions abroad have limited effects on society. Birth rates and marriage statistics remain unchanged. But in the U.S. there is still strong opposition to the idea of same-sex marriage.
BADGETT: The public opinion polls still show that the people are reluctant to endorse full marriage rights. They're much more likely to say yes, you know, we think that gay couples should have civil unions or marriage. The process of change is hard to predict, but I do think that there will be a tipping point where things will start changing very rapidly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: Good morning.
The federal government says seven men arrested this week were wannabe terrorists. Authorities say the men plotted to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and government buildings around Miami, but had no weapons or money. Six of the suspects appeared in court yesterday.
Meantime, the Bush administration is defending its use of financial data to track alleged terrorist activity. Administration officials are also blasting news organizations for reporting it and say disclosure of the Treasury Department's actions undermines the program.
In Saudi Arabia, a dramatic shootout today in Riyadh. Six suspected militants and a policeman were killed in the raid. Saudi officials say other raids across the country nabbed about 40 suspected militants.
Tennis great Andre Agassi reportedly says he's had enough at the age of 36. Agassi will play at Wimbledon next week and at the U.S. Open in August, but after that he says he is done. Back problems have slowed him down in recent years.
Anna Nicole Smith's nemesis is dead. E. Pierce Marshall, who waged a long, legal battle to keep Smith from inheriting his late father's fortune died unexpectedly this week from an aggressive infection. Marshall's father married the former Playmate when he was 89, she was 26. Smith may yet collect millions from her late husband's estate because of a Supreme Court ruling in her favor earlier this year.
And those are the headlines. Good morning. I'm Melissa Long. High tech toys to help you to keep an eye on your home, family, and even your pet. That's next on "OPEN HOUSE" with Gerri Willis.
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