A Shocking Videotape; Profiling Condoleezza Rice
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A shocking videotape. The woman who led the effort to fight poverty in Iraq apparently murdered by her captors. Plus, do you stare at a computer screen all day, fight to keep things in focus? We'll tell you why bleary eyes might not be your only problem. And the Virgin Mary, a 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich and eBay, can it get any weirder than this? It is Wednesday, November 17. This is DAYBREAK. And good morning to you. Thank you for waking up with us. I'm Carol Costello. There is a lot going on this morning. Let's check the headlines for you right now. A portion of the highway from Baghdad to its airport is sealed off at this hour. A suicide car bomber drove his vehicle into a civilian convoy, setting at least one car on fire. No word yet on casualties. At the Texas-Oklahoma state line overnight, a 25-vehicle pileup forced the northbound lanes of Interstate 35 near Gainesville to be closed. Three people were taken to area hospitals and we've just gotten word this morning that traffic is moving again. The first hearing in the Kobe Bryant civil suit scheduled for today. Attorneys for both sides may discuss settlement talks or the possibility of moving the trial to California. Neither Bryant nor his accuser are expected to be in court for that hearing. It is time again for the annual Leonid meteor shower. It's caused by debris from the Temple Tuttle Comet hitting the Earth's atmosphere. So for the next few nights, you should be able to see a lot of shooting stars. To our own shooting star now -- Chad.</s>CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Which way am I shooting it, down? Actually, a couple of the guys here actually saw some of the shooting stars driving to work this morning.</s>COSTELLO: Really?</s>MYERS: They were that bright. So, yes, so maybe if you want to get out there before the sun rises, you can actually see it.</s>COSTELLO: Family members of a kidnapped international aid worker in Iraq say their hearts are broken. A video has surfaced that apparently shows the murder of Margaret Hassan, who was head of CARE International in Iraq. Karl Penhaul live in Baghdad with details for us -- Karl, is it definitely confirmed that she's been killed?</s>KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've not seen that video, Carol. Al Jazeera, who received a copy of the video, we understand, has not broadcast it. But they say that they received that video possibly about six days ago now. But it has, we understand, been analyzed by the British Foreign Office. Now, the British Foreign Office says they believe that that videotape is genuine, but they say that they're not 100 percent certain. What apparently the videotape shows is a blindfolded woman dressed in an orange jumpsuit and then somebody from behind puts a bullet into the back of her head. We don't know as yet what group that may have been. As you'll remember, it's been a month since Margaret Hassan has been kidnapped. There has been no claim of responsibility by any specific group, although we have seen a couple of videos out before of her pleading for her life and calling for the withdrawal of British troops. But certainly Margaret Hassan's husband believes that the tape is genuine and believes that his wife Margaret, who lived in Iraq for more than 30 years, is now dead. This is what he had to say.</s>TAHSEEN HASSAN, HUSBAND OF MARGARET HASSAN: I have been told that there is a video of Margaret which appears to show her murdered. The video may be genuine, but I do not know. I beg those people who took Margaret to tell me what they have done with her.</s>PENHAUL: This is one of the most absurd kidnappings of international personnel here in Iraq. Margaret Hassan was fervently anti-war. She was anti-sanctions and even the al-Zarqawi terrorist network, whom these kidnappers have threatened to hand over Margaret Hassan to them, rejected the kidnapping and called for her to be released. It's still unclear, as I say, who may have kidnapped her, who may have killed her -- Carol.</s>COSTELLO: Karl Penhaul live in Baghdad this morning. Thank you. We want to get right to Jane Arraf. More gunfire and explosions overnight in Falluja. Even as the U.S.-led military offensive is winding down, pockets of insurgents do remain. As I said, we have Jane Arraf on the line. She's embedded with a unit of the Army's 1st Infantry Division -- good morning, Jane.</s>JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. We're with soldiers going street by street, building by building in an industrial section in the southeast of Falluja. And they are knocking down doors</s>COSTELLO: Oh, we've lost our connection with Jane. As you heard her say, they're still fighting pockets of insurgents in Falluja. A lot of the fighting, though, is taking place in Mosul, a city nearby. We'll have much more on that later. We'll take you to the war room, as well, in the next half hour of DAYBREAK when our senior international editor David Clinch will join us from London. We'll talk about the global reaction to the apparent killing of that CARE International Director Margaret Hassan in Iraq and the safety concerns for other civilians. Also on tap, the British public response to that killing. Will there be another high profile departure from the Bush cabinet? Senior administration sources tell CNN there will be. They say Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge plans to leave his post. But there has been no official confirmation as of yet. In July, there were reports Ridge was thinking about stepping down after the November election, partly because of job stress. We do know for sure that Education Secretary Rod Paige is resigning and President Bush could formally nominate a replacement as early as today, and that's who you're looking at. A senior administration source tells CNN that Bush will tape Margaret Spellings to be the next education secretary. She's been serving as the president's domestic policy adviser. President Bush also urging the Senate to quickly confirm Condoleezza Rice. She's the president's choice to replace Colin Powell as secretary of state. Here's what she had to say right after her nomination.</s>CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: If I am confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to working with the great people of the Foreign Service and the Civil Service. And one of my highest priorities as secretary will be to ensure that they have all the tools necessary to carry American diplomacy forward in the 21st century.</s>COSTELLO: Rice would be the first African-American woman and only the second woman to lead the State Department. Over the past four years, she's become one of President Bush's closest advisers. CNN's White House correspondent Dana Bash takes a look back.</s>DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A recurring snapshot of the last four years -- President Bush with Condoleezza Rice at his side. A Soviet specialist and academic turned foreign policy tutor to a Texas governor, now the guiding force of a president's controversial "with us or against us" approach to a post-9/11 world. Not just a policy wonk, but also a concert pianist and ardent sports fan, known to exercise and watch games with the president during frequent visits to Camp David and the Bush ranch. The president knows he can't give her the job she really wants.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: She would really like to be the commissioner of the National Football League.</s>BASH (on camera): The national security adviser's chief role is to promote and coordinate the president's foreign policy. And Rice's tenure has not been without controversy. (voice-over): Making the case for the Iraq war, she was among the most eager to warn of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction that never materialized.</s>RICE: But we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud.</s>BASH: It was her staff that let the president make this State of the Union claim.</s>BUSH: The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.</s>BASH: Rice later conceded it was a mistake based on shaky intelligence. Another criticism? She's a poor manager who did not take seriously al Qaeda's threat before September 11.</s>RICHARD BEN-VENISTES, 9/11 COMMISSIONER: And I ask you whether you recall the title of that PDB?</s>RICE: I believe the title was "Bin Laden Determined To Attack Inside the United States."</s>BASH: But here's what the president calls her.</s>BUSH: Her job is also to deal inter-agency and to help unstick things that may get stuck. That's the best way to put it. She's an unsticker.</s>BASH: And while many say her diplomatic skills are untested, Rice's personal story is clearly a driving force for her goals.</s>RICE: When America's founding fathers said we the people, they didn't mean me.</s>BASH: Unequivocal that her foreign policy is not just about fighting wars, but promoting democracy for those denied the same rights blacks once were in America. Dana Bash, CNN, the White House.</s>COSTELLO: All right, now it is your turn to weigh in. Our e- mail Question of the Morning -- Condoleezza Rice, is she the best choice for secretary of state to replace Colin Powell? We want to know your thoughts this morning. Daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com. There are new claims this morning that Iran is trying to make nuclear weapons. An Iranian opposition group is releasing satellite photos. They allegedly show a secret nuclear weapons research facility in Tehran. Take a look at these pictures. A satellite picture of the site taken in August 2003 shows various buildings. You can see them there. But in a picture taken about seven months later, the buildings are gone. The group says the whole nuclear facility was moved to a new site to evade U.N. inspectors. These images have not been independently confirmed. We want you to know that. But a Washington business consultant with ties to that opposition group says Iran is lying to the U.N. nuclear agency.</s>ALI SAFAYI, BUSINESS CONSULTANT: It demonstrates, I think, before anything else, that despite its claims, its claims of cooperation with the IAEA, the Iranian regime is continuing its clandestine nuclear weapons program in defiance of its international obligations.</s>COSTELLO: Now, we do want you to know the opposition group is holding a news conference this hour in Paris. It's going on right now. We'll have a live report for you at the half hour and we should know much more after that news conference happens. Here's what else we've got coming up this hour. The U.S. says it's liberating Falluja, but does the Arab world feel the same? We'll find out at 18 minutes past. And later, NBA star Kobe Bryant isn't out of court yet. We'll have details at 43 minutes after. But first, eBay's opposition to a grilled cheese sandwich is melting. We'll tell you what makes this sandwich so very special at 24 minutes past. But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning, November 17.