Crocodile Hunter Dies in Accident; Al Qaeda Leader Behind Bars
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The crocodile hunter is dead. Steve Irwin, who made a career tempting fate, is killed diving on the Great Barrier Reef.</s>SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In Iraq, a key al Qaeda leader is behind bars. Some say he is at the heart of what's stirring sectarian unrest. And Iraqis say it's a big victory. Is he betraying now his fellow al Qaeda terrorists?</s>M. O'BRIEN: The Labor Day kickoff to the election season. Will the political wind shift on Capitol Hill?</s>S. O'BRIEN: And we're going to show you this morning how to truly master your food bill. You can save big money at the supermarket. Tips from "Consumer Reports" ahead, and much more, on this AMERICAN MORNING. Welcome back, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.</s>M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Happy Labor Day to you.</s>S. O'BRIEN: And a very sad story to begin with this morning. It comes to us out of Australia. Steve Irwin, better known, of course, to the world as the crocodile hunter, is dead. He was killed by a stingray while he was diving along the Great Barrier Reef. The stingray's tail apparently punctured his chest and they believe it may have even hit his heart. Steve Irwin was just 44 years old. We get more on the career of Steve Irwin from Alex Smith of Australia's Channel Nine.</s>ALEX SMITH, CHANNEL NINE, AUSTRALIA (voice-over): Steve Irwin was more than extraordinary. He was an international phenomenon.</s>STEVE IRWIN, CROCODILE HUNTER: I can't stop, mate. I'm just -- I'm on fire. I wake up in the morning and I'm on fire. I just can't do enough.</s>SMITH: And the world couldn't get enough. Long before he was a household name at home, he was star of the week on U.S. television.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Irwins are the real crocodile Dundees of Queensland in Australia.</s>SMITH: It all started at his parents' Australia zoo on the Sunshine Coast. That grounding and his boots and all approach...</s>IRWIN: Full force. Full force. Go, go, go!</s>SMITH: And that trademark style...</s>IRWIN: Crikey! That's the biggest crocodile upheaval in Australia Zoo's history.</s>SMITH: ... made Steve Irwin one of Australia's most successful exports.</s>IRWIN: I want you in there with me, Charlie. Mate, all right, you're coming in with me.</s>SMITH: Even Hollywood beckoned.</s>IRWIN: There you go, mate.</s>SMITH: But along with wife Terri and their two children, Steve's heart was never far from the Aussie bush and his beloved Australia Zoo. There were controversies along the way.</s>SMITH: But no controversy could shake his self-belief.</s>SMITH: He leaves behind a massive nature conservation project funded by his multi-million dollar empire. But perhaps his greatest legacy would be to encourage others to follow their dreams.</s>IRWIN: I am the proudest Australian bloke on the face of the Earth.</s>S. O'BRIEN: That reports comes to us from Alex Smith from Australia's Channel Nine. Apparently Irwin went into cardiac arrest when he stung by the ray. He was swimming over it at the time. The crew called for a MediVac, but by the time they got there, it was too late. In just a few minutes, we're going to talk to animal lover Jack Hanna about his late friend, Steve Irwin -- Miles.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Tourists visiting Amman, Jordan became targets today when two gunmen opened fire. Jordanian officials say one British tourist is dead. CNN has confirmed among the wounded two British citizens, one Australian and one New Zealander and one Dutch citizen; also, a tour guide of unknown nationality is also apparently injured. A key al Qaeda operative in Iraq behind bars this morning. Hamed Jumaa Al Saeedi, who also goes by a few other aliases, is apparently the number two man in that organization. CNN's Michael Holmes joining us from Baghdad with more -- Michael, tell us about him.</s>MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi to you, Miles. And good morning, everyone. Well, the national security adviser here, Mowaffak Al-Rubaie, announced this arrest at a news conference on Sunday. Now, the man in question, according to Al-Rubaie, was the number two man. He was second in command to Abu Ayyub Al-Masri, who himself took over al Qaeda in Iraq after U.S. troops, you'll remember, killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. That happened back in June. Now, according to officials, he has admitted receiving money from other groups who had been kidnapping Iraqis and getting ransoms for their release. He was apparently caught with three other Al Qaeda members. But why is he significant in particular? Here's part of the news conference.</s>HOLMES: Now, Miles, of course, the bombing of that Samarra shrine in February -- it can't be understated the importance of that. That was a very holy place for Shias. It didn't kill many people, the explosion itself. But I'll tell you what, it is what really sparked the major sectarian violence between Shia and Sunni that we've seen in Iraq, and in particular here in Baghdad, in recent months -- Miles.</s>M. O'BRIEN: You mentioned Zarqawi. Zarqawi was killed in June. What's the best sense as to how much that hobbled Al Qaeda in Iraq and how much will this arrest help?</s>HOLMES: You know, that's a very important question, and it's -- it puts things in perspective. You and I know there have been a lot of al Qaeda number twos arrested over the last few years. And when Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed by those U.S. troops, it really was a speed bump in terms of al Qaeda's ability to operate in Iraq. Now, the arrest of this man, well, the Iraqis say it's putting a major dent in Al Qaeda in Iraq. But that remains to be seen. Al Qaeda, as you know, is very much a cellular organization. It doesn't have an H.Q. or anything like that. And these cells operate, often, very independently of each other. And we're even told that this man, Al Saeedi, he was controlling a number of cells in and around Baquba. Now, elsewhere around the country, those cells are operating pretty independently. So, I think over the long-term, it probably won't have much effect. Maybe the short-term, a little -- Miles.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Michael Holmes in Baghdad, thank you. Another al Qaeda tape is out and once again we're hearing from an American member of that terror group. Adam Gadahn, a 29-year-old -- 28-year-old Californian wanted by the FBI is asking Americans to convert to Islam.</s>ADAM YEHIYE GADAHN: And the leaders of the West also find it convenient to point the finger of accusation at the other because it helps them to avoid having to face difficult questions about the West's dark and bloody past, and equally dark and bloody present.</s>M. O'BRIEN: A counter-terrorism expert tells CNN the American's comments may be the warning of an imminent attack. Still other experts in the region say it may be a bid to soften the group's image -- Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Are you feeling confident about your job, your investments, the value of your home? On this Labor Day, President Bush is going to try to convince Americans that all is well with the economy. CNN's Kathleen Koch at the White House with a preview of the president's speech this morning -- hey, Kathleen, good morning.</s>KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. And it is a sales job with a lot at stake. You know, the mid- term elections are just two months away. Democrats need just six seats to take control of the Senate, some 15 to take control of the House. And both parties are very aware that the economy is a very important issue for voters this election year, right up there with Iraq, with the war on terrorism. And so the president is going to a maritime academy in Piney Point, Maryland to make the pitch to Americans that his economic policies are working. He is expected to cite unemployment figures that came out recently showing that unemployment dropped slightly in August, to 4.7 percent, and that the president -- that the economy has generated -- had this job growth for some 36 straight months during Mr. Bush's presidency. But Democrats insist the president, rather, is out of touch with those many Americans who are still out there not enjoying and reaping the benefits of the economy and living paycheck to paycheck. They point to figures that show that between 2001 and 2005, that median household income dropped half a percent, that during that same time period, the poverty rate nationwide rose from 11.7 to 12.6 percent. So certainly both parties out there pitching hard to reach voters with their spin on the economy -- Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: No surprise there. Kathleen Koch at the White House for us. Thanks, Kathleen.</s>KOCH: You bet.</s>S. O'BRIEN: CNN's is going to have live coverage of the president's comments about the economy. That's later this morning, at 11:50 a.m. Eastern time.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Well, while you are focused on getting the kids settled into school, Democratic political operatives are focused on unsettling the political status quo. The mid-term election is set to move into overdrive. Nine weeks of campaigning lie ahead. When it's over, who will control Congress? AMERICAN MORNING'S Bob Franken with more.</s>BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The -- it kind of makes you choke up, doesn't it?</s>M. O'BRIEN: Yes, it does, apparently.</s>FRANKEN: A very interesting, very, very high stakes election. At issue, control of Congress. Most of the experts saying that the House of Representatives is certainly in play, perhaps the Senate. Both sides, the Democrats and the Republicans, say they are going to focus on national security, the war in Iraq, the war on terrorism. And as we see in the all important Pennsylvania Senate race, both sides are going to do their level best to finesse the issues. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "MEET THE PRESS, " COURTESY NBC) BOB CASEY, U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE: We need new leadership. We don't need a deadline, a time line, we need new leadership. And part of that leadership, I think, involves a couple of things. Let me just go through four of five of them. One of them is the question of accountability. Our troops have been accountable with their lives and yet a lot of politicians in Washington haven't been held accountable.</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "MEET THE PRESS, " COURTESY NBC) SEN. RICK SANTORUM (R-PA), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: I think we'll win or lose this war right here in America. I think we'll win or lose this war because the American pe...</s>CASEY: Let's have a...</s>SANTORUM: Please let me finish. Because the American people are not going to stand -- are losing their resolve because of the tactics the terrorists are using.</s>FRANKEN: As I said, it's going to be a political war here in the United States until November. The Republicans, if they lose control of the House, are going to see Democrats who are very willing to just stop the Bush administration in its tracks in the final two years. And Democrats say they are going to, in fact, make an issue in this election of President Bush, even though he isn't running -- Miles.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Well, you know, the late Tip O'Neill said all politics is local. These are congressional districts. There's a lot of local issues which will come into play. But it seems like there's an unifying national issue at stake here.</s>FRANKEN: Well, it's an interesting point. Yes, it's true that all politics is local. I never knew if it was is or are. But, in any case, the truth is, is that terrorism is viewed as a local issue and the Republicans are hoping they can make that case, as well as the Democrats saying it. So there's going to be a fight that both sides are anxious to have.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Bob Franken in Washington, thank you -- Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Ten minutes past the hour. Let's get right to the forecast with Chad, who's at the CNN Center this morning -- hey, Chad.</s>CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Soledad.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, animal lover Jack Hanna will join us to talk about his late friend, crocodile hunter Steve Irwin. And al Qaeda and the president's war on terror. Are we safer today? We'll get an inside perspective.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Plus, it's Labor Day. You're home, maybe avoiding work. We'll bring work to you. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao is going to join us. We'll talk to her about wages, the economy and why we -- some of us don't seem to feel like we have any money left in our wallets. That's all ahead. We're back in a moment.