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CNN LIVE AT DAYBREAK

Fight for Iraq; Missing in Aruba; Fraud Protection

Aired June 20, 2005 - 05:00   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is Monday, June 20. A call for fair, transparent elections. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice issues a challenge for Egypt in hopes of spreading democracy.
Operation Spear advances through Iraq another day, weeding out insurgents near the Syrian border.

And we'll also talk about those two men possibly running for president in 2008.

And it's more deadly than hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes. What could save your life when an electrical storm strikes?

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK with Carol Costello and Chad Myers.

COSTELLO: Good morning, everyone. We'll have more on Secretary Rice's trip to Egypt in just a second.

Also ahead, it's been a violent day already in Iraq. We'll take you live to Baghdad in just a few minutes.

And later, can the remake of this classic live up to the hype? We'll bring you the latest from the red carpet premier in London.

But first, "Now in the News."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is set to begin what's billed as a major foreign policy speech in Cairo at this moment. We are monitoring it, and we'll dip in live as news warrants. Rice is in Egypt pushing for democratic reforms.

The John Bolton battle heads toward a big vote this afternoon. The Senate has scheduled a 6:00 Eastern vote on closing debate over his controversial nomination as U.N. ambassador.

A judge in Aruba was questioned by investigators for the second straight day about the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. The Alabama teenager has been missing three weeks now. The judge's son is one of the four men being detained in that investigation.

And starting today you can view more CNN reports online. Just visit CNN.com and quick on "watch" to check out the most popular stories in a range of categories, like politics, sports and entertainment.

Now the forecast center to say good morning to Chad. Good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol. I'm feeling so much better today.

COSTELLO: Oh, I'm glad.

MYERS: Friday was awful.

COSTELLO: You sound better.

MYERS: And the weekend wasn't all that pretty either. But that's all right. Hey, good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Good enough. Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: In the fight for Iraq, insurgents launch more fatal attacks. And once again, Iraqi police are the targets.

Let's take you live to Baghdad now and Jennifer Eccleston.

Hello, Jennifer.

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol. Hello.

Well, after a weekend punctuated by violence, today the attacks continue across Iraq. Five police and security forces were killed early this morning when a car bomb exploded near a Baghdad police station. It appeared to be a coordinated attack.

The insurgents fired on police first, and when the security forces were called in for backup, a bomb detonated. Some 15 security and police forces were also injured there.

And then the day's other violence, a bomber wearing a police uniform slammed his car into the gathering of some 200 traffic police at their headquarters in the Kurdish city of Erbil. Police say 12 police have been killed so far, and over 100 have been wounded. Now, Erbil has largely been sheltered from the incessant violence that's racking the remainder of Iraq, but it has seen several major bombings blamed on militant extremist Muslim groups.

And on Sunday, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a popular Baghdad restaurant, killing 23 people, including seven police. It happened during the busy lunchtime period just about 400 yards away from the Green Zone. That is the home to the U.S. military and also to the Iraq's transitional government. The restaurant bombing was the second of two suicide attacks that killed more than two dozen people in Baghdad on Sunday.

And also, the tribunal preparing the trials of the former regime leaders here announced a question to eight people on Thursday. Among them, the man known as "Chemical Ali," Ali Hassan al-Majid, a cousin of Saddam Hussein who ordered those 1988 chemical weapons attacks on the Kurds. The other person it was announced that was questioned was also Taha Yassin Ramadan, and he was one of Iraq's former vice president's -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Jennifer Eccleston live in Baghdad this morning.

Australian hostage Douglas Wood has a one-word description of his abductors, a profane description we cannot repeat. He lives in California but was returned to Australia. He appeared in a news conference in Melbourne to say the U.S.-led policy in Iraq is working.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGLAS WOOD, FREED HOSTAGE: And frankly, I'd like to apologize to both President Bush and to Prime Minister Howard for things I said under duress. I actually believe that I am proof positive that the current policy that framed the Iraqi Army of recruiting, training, embodying them worked, because it was the Iraqis who got me out. So I'm proof positive that the current policies of the American and the Australian governments is the right one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Wood was held captive for nearly seven weeks and says he just might return to Iraq.

Senator John McCain isn't jumping on the White House bandwagon when it comes to Iraq. He disagrees with Vice President Cheney's assertion that the insurgency is in its last throws. He also wants the administration to stop telling you that victory is just around the corner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Too often, we've been told that -- the American people have been told that we're at a turning point, you know, whether it be the capture of Saddam Hussein or Uday and Qusay or the elections. What the American people should have been told, and should be told, and I believe the president is going to tell them -- I think he's focusing back on Iraq, I think it's long, hard, it's tough. It's very tough.

I don't think Americans believe that we should cut and run out of -- out of Iraq, by any stretch of the imagination. But I think they also would like to be told in reality what's going on. And, by the way, I think part of that is it's going to be at least a couple more years.

TIM RUSSERT, HOST, "MEET THE PRESS": Couple more years?

MCCAIN: At least.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The Republican senator from Arizona is widely seen as a potential presidential candidate.

The cost of fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may be going up again. The House plans to vote on a bill today giving President Bush an extra $45 billion for military operations. That's on top of $350 billion that's already been allocated. The money is part of a Pentagon spending measure for next year.

The director of the CIA reportedly says he has an excellent idea of where Osama bin Laden is hiding. In an interview with "TIME" magazine, Director Porter Goss, well, he didn't say where bin Laden is, but he did say respect for sovereign nations makes it more difficult to capture the al Qaeda chief.

We'll have much more on this in the next hour. "TIME" magazine's Vivica Novak will join us live.

Natalee Holloway disappeared three weeks ago. There have not been any change -- any charges filed in the case even though four men are being detained, and they may remain in jail for at least another week, and maybe longer.

We get the latest on this vexing investigation from CNN's Karl Penhaul, who is in Palm Beach, Aruba.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Police and investigators spent a second straight day questioning Paul Van Der Sloot to see what he knows about the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. Paul Van Der Sloot is a judge on the island of Aruba. He's also the father of 17-year- old Joran Van Der Sloot, one of four suspects currently in custody in connection with Natalee's disappearance.

At this stage, police say that Paul Van Der Sloot is considered a witness in this case, not a suspect. But they've declined to give any information on what they think the judge may have seen or heard about the case.

Last night, also, Natalee's family visited a church on the island to pray for their daughter. The mother, Beth Twitty, has said that not only is she anxious about Natalee's whereabouts, but that anxiety is now giving away also to anger. She has said that she believes that the three young boys last seen in Natalee's company three weeks ago are lying to police, and if only they would come forward and tell the truth they could get clues much faster about where Natalee is now.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, Palm Beach, Aruba.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: The Senate is considering new national standards to protect you from credit fraud, but it may be too late for some. The latest security lapse has exposed as many as 40 million credit card holders to identity theft and fraud. CNN's Allan Chernoff has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. FINANCE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Major credit card issuers like Citibank and Chase say they'll notify customers by mail and telephone if their card numbers are among the million that were illegally accessed. For those who prefer not to wait, the toll-free customer service lines are open, but very busy. Understandable, since there is the danger that someone could be using your card number for a shopping spree.

CHRIS HOOFNAGLE, ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFO CENTER: The big risk here is massive amounts of credit card fraud. So with someone's credit card number and the expiration date, and any security codes on the card, all of which are identifiers that a card processing company would have, one could create duplicate cards or make purchases over the Internet that are fraudulent.

CHERNOFF: Mastercard says there's no risk of a crook making duplicate cards to withdraw cash from teller machines because the hacker of hackers did not access personal identification numbers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been more careful, you know, lately. This is something that, you know, I didn't really pay much attention to. But now I -- you know, I do. I open the envelopes and I look at it.

CHERNOFF: Not only do customers need to open their credit card statement envelopes, they need to closely examine the transactions. Be sure they're purchases you and your family made.

You can also check online or even call on the telephone to check the most recent transactions. Card issuers won't charge for unauthorized transactions, but it's up to you to find them. So anyone writing a check each month to their credit card company without examining the statement may be an easy mark.

(on camera): Those who are especially worried can call their credit card companies and ask them to simply cancel the account and send a new card with a different account number. But the hackers aren't going into retirement, meaning you still have to make a habit of tracking your credit card transactions.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Here's something else you should know. Victims of credit card fraud are only responsible for $50 worth of those charges. And some companies say they'll waive that fee given the recent number of security problems. But you still need to watch your accounts.

And that brings us, Chad, to our e-mail "Question of the Morning."

MYERS: You need a little computer, a little computer on your desk. You know how you've got that thing when you go to the casino in Vegas, you just put that dollar in and it let's you gamble? You want to buy something, you just put your little dollar in the front of your computer and it sucks it up and then you pay for it.

Credit card security, have you changed your habits? I mean, I'm thinking about it. You know?

I buy a lot of things online. And if it's got that little lock there in the bottom, you just say, OK, that's a secure site, that's encrypted. I guess it's OK. But I've been...

COSTELLO: What more can you do, though? I mean, do you stop using credit cards? That would be a good thing for a number of reasons, right?

MYERS: Start using the old greenback, I guess.

COSTELLO: Yes.

MYERS: It's going to be tough, because I love using the credit card, because it allows me to pay for everything for 30 days, not pay any interest on it because I pay it off every month and then pay it all in one big chunk. I love that part. But you've got to be careful.

You really do have to look at your bill every -- even if they're sneaking one or two in there they don't expect you to find, they can do that for months on end.

COSTELLO: DAYBREAK@CNN.com. We're interested in what you're doing. Thanks, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Coming up on DAYBREAK, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is on the road in Egypt today, and she's spelling out the Arab nation's major role in reshaping the Middle East. A live update from Ben Wedeman in 18 minutes.

For offbeat stories, there's nobody better than Jeanne Moos. We've got her from every angle in 27 minutes.

And Tom Cruise gets a wet reception at the "War of the Worlds" premier in London. Somebody wasn't really nice to him. We'll have details for you in 44 minutes.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Monday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Let's take a quick look at the international markets. It's been a dismal day so far.

Japan's Nikkei closes down almost 31 points. Britain's FTSE trading down about 10. The German DAX is down just over 25 points.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:17 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice takes her case for democracy to Egypt. Rice called on Egypt to have free and fair elections this fall.

The Supreme Court is poised to rule on some major cases this morning. One of them could be the issue of whether The Ten Commandments can be displayed on government property.

In money news, crude oil prices hit a new record high this morning in Asia. You have to wonder, can gas prices be far behind? Crude oil futures topped $59 a barrel. Ouch.

In culture, actor Tom Cruise was ticked off by a prankster at the London premier of his movie "War of the Worlds." A phony TV reporter squirted water into Cruise's face. Cruise told him off, calling him a jerk.

In sports, Mark Campbell held off a late charge by Tiger Woods to capture his first U.S. Open championship. He pocketed $1.7 million for the win.

Campbell is the first New Zealander, Chad, to win a major in 42 years.

MYERS: And the only person under par after 72 holes.

COSTELLO: Isn't that something?

MYERS: I think you have to raise the par. That's just telling me something. If the best 250 in the world -- woo.

Anyway, that was a tough course. I would have shot 190.

(LAUGHTER)

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Oh, don't go away just yet because...

MYERS: Oh, oh.

COSTELLO: It's lightning awareness week.

MYERS: It is.

COSTELLO: I was not aware of that until very early this morning, but it is indeed. So we shot -- we thought that Chad should pass along some safety tips for you or some facts you should know.

MYERS: Well, you know, lightning kills more people than tornadoes. Lightning kills more people than hurricanes. Just because you're outside and you haven't heard lightning or haven't heard thunder in a while doesn't mean you're still not in danger.

It's a 30-30 rule. If you hear thunder, get inside. That's it, period. Because if you do that counting thing, you see the lightning, hear the thunder, if it's within 30 seconds, it's within hitting you the next time that lightning strikes.

And if you hear thunder, it finally stops, wait 30 minutes to go back outside. I know that sounds like a long time if you're waiting on a golf course. But look at that, 79 lightning deaths per year. Clearly, most of them across the South through -- up through the Mississippi River Valley, the Ohio River Valley, and the greatest concentration in Florida, because that's where most of the lightning occurs. And, of course, people are outside more.

Even being right inside your garage watching the rain shower right from inside your garage, not safe. Because your feet could still be wet.

COSTELLO: Really?

MYERS: The lightning hits a power poll right near you, that charge could still get into -- the best place to be if you're outside is actually in the car. Not in a convertible car, but in a car, with your feet, hands away from all of that. And the cars are very good at directing the lightning through the skin, down to the tires, and out away from you.

COSTELLO: Will do. And we'll have more...

MYERS: Of course, stay inside.

COSTELLO: ... safety tips -- true. We'll have more safety tips in the next hour of DAYBREAK.

MYERS: OK.

COSTELLO: Still to come this morning, a special blessing in St. Peter's Square. We'll tell you all about it. That's coming your way next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And do not forget our "Question of the Morning." With all the credit card security concerns out there, have your habits changed? What are you doing to protect yourself against fraud?

E-mail us at DAYBREAK@CNN.com. That's DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

And it is time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Opener" now.

There's something a little odd about these puppies.

MYERS: That ain't no puppies.

COSTELLO: You're right. These are not puppies. They're tiger cubs who were rejected by their own mother at a zoo in Siberia.

So zookeepers found a willing surrogate to help feed the cups. And, of course, they have to learn to share with the dog's own little ones. It seems to be working out, though.

MYERS: That's good.

COSTELLO: You'd need a whole pack of dogs to help feed this newborn. This little elephant is three -- is that the cutest? Three days old, Chad. She's the newest addition to the Berlin Zoo. She's just the third baby elephant to be born at the zoo in its 164-year history.

MYERS: That's great.

COSTELLO: Oh. From Germany to Italy now, and something that moves a little faster. A fleet of Ferraris made their way into St. Peter's Square for a very special occasion, a blessing of the cars and the drivers by Pope Benedict XVI.

Good for him.

And speaking of the pope, a new doll in his image has gone on sale in his image has gone on sale in his home country. German toy makers admit that the doll really doesn't look anything like the pope, but they did make it so the arms move to simulate the pope's wave. They're selling for about $90 a piece.

MYERS: Eighty bucks just for the hat.

COSTELLO: Yes. Oh, that's very strange.

In the next half-hour of DAYBREAK, we'll get a live report from Egypt, where Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is again calling for free and competitive elections. We'll bring you more on that story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK with Carol Costello and Chad Myers.

COSTELLO: And good morning, everyone. Welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK.

Coming up in the next 30 minutes, Jeanne Moos shares some of her favorite and most outlandish stories.

And later, the happy couple, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, walk the red carpet in London, but can "War of the Worlds" live up to the hype outside of the theater? We'll take a look.

But first, "Now in the News."

The second stop of Condoleezza Rice's overseas trip is Egypt. There the secretary of state will give what's called a major foreign policy address. Rice will call on Egyptians to lead and define a democratic future in the Middle East.

The U.S. Senate votes later today on ending the debate over John Bolton. Bolton is President Bush's controversial nominee to be ambassador to the United Nations. A car bomb explodes near a Baghdad police station today. At least five officers are dead. The explosion occurred during a firefight between Iraqi forces and insurgents. Also, a suicide car bomb exploded inside an Iraqi police compound in Erbil, killing at least 12 people and wounding more than 100 others.

And starting today you can view more CNN reports online. Just visit CNN.com and click on "watch" to check out the most popular stories in a range of categories, like politics, sports and entertainment.

To the forecast center now and Chad.

Good morning.

MYERS: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

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