[John Roberts, Cnn Anchor:] Today and it could lead all the way to the west wing. A hearing on the destroyed CIA interrogation tapes will happen just a few hours from now in Washington. There are questions about how high the discussions went. There are already reports that top Bush administration officials were involved in discussions about what to do with those tapes. A federal judge wants to find out whether the CIA ignored his order to hold on to evidence related to torture. Justice correspondent Kelli Arena has got the latest for us live from Washington. Good morning, Kelli.
[Kelli Arena, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning, John. The justice department did not want those CIA tapes discussed in an open court proceeding. As you know, John, it's conducting an investigation and it had asked the court to stay out of this matter for now, but the judge ignored that plea and DOJ lawyers will stand before him later on this morning.
[Arena:] Judge Henry Kennedy did not elaborate. He simply ordered the government to appear before him this morning. Justice department officials had warned that a court proceeding could complicate or even disrupt its ongoing investigation into the destruction of CIA tapes. Apparently, Judge Kennedy didn't buy it.
[Tim Heaphy, Fmr. Federal Prosecutor:] If it goes the next step and Judge Kennedy allows the plaintiffs in the civil suit to subpoena representatives of the CIA who have personal knowledge about this destruction, that is a very damaging fact for the department.
[Arena:] Back in 2005, Kennedy ordered the government to safeguard all evidence of possible torture or mistreatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Now word the CIA destroyed interrogation tapes, some question whether the government violated that order. The Bush administration says it did not. That's because Al Qaeda operatives who were taped were being held in secret locations in 2005, not a Guantanamo Bay. David Remes, who represents several detainees at Gitmo requested today's hearing.
[David Remes, Defense Attorney:] As far as the government is concerned, it wants to keep the foxes in charge of the hen house. It only wants the justice department and the CIA to look into this question of document destruction.
[Arena:] Now even if the government didn't violate the court order, legal experts say that it could be guilty of breaking other laws regarding evidence John.
[Roberts:] Kelli, so this is as we said, related to Guantanamo Bay. If the judge determines that these tapes were destroyed against his order, could he possibly seek an obstruction of justice charge?
[Arena:] Well, he could. I mean, it's very unclear. The judge was very vague. All he did was issue a one-sentence order and said be there. He did not say what the hearing would cover, what questions he would ask so this is really going to be interesting to see where he takes this today, John.
[Roberts:] All right. And you'll be watching it for us this morning.
[Arena:] Sure.
[Roberts:] Kelli Arena live from Washington this morning. Kelli, thanks Veronica.
[Veronica De La Cruz, Cnn Co-anchor:] And breaking news in Pakistan to talk about now, where a bombing at a mosque kills at least 50 people and injuries at 100 others. There are some of the first pictures we're looking at now. This is the scene in Trepau. It's about 25 miles northeast of Peshawar. Police say the bomber was praying alongside others when he set off his bomb packed with ball bearings and nails. The blast happened at a mosque on a property of Pakistan's former interior minister. It is the second attack targeting the man in eight months. He was not injured.
[Roberts:] California's Republican governor is battling with the president over global warming. Arnold Schwarzenegger is hot over the Bush administration's rejection of his states efforts to tighten rules on greenhouse gases. Schwarzenegger says he's going to file a lawsuit to challenge the EPA'S denial of a waiver that would have allowed California to cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks faster than a new federal plan the president just signed.
[Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger , California:] It's another example of the administration's failure to treat global warming with the seriousness that it actually demands.
[George W. Bush, President Of The United States:] The director, in assessing this law and assessing what would be more, you know, more effective for the country, says we now have a national plan.
[Roberts:] Sixteen other states want to follow Schwarzenegger's lead and get more aggressive on emissions. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine called the EPA's decision "horrendous and based on crazy reasoning." It is shaping up to be a fierce political and legal battle. Let's turn now to AMERICAN MORNING legal contributor and former prosecutor Sunny Hostin. What California wanted to do was go back to 1990 greenhouse gas levels by the year 2020. The EPA's own staff recommended it.
[Sunny Hostin, American Morning Legal Contributor:] That's right.
[Roberts:] And the EPA administrator put the kabosh on? Is that legally defensible?
[Hostin:] Well, the EPA legal staff and the technical staff are saying it is not legally defensible, and what's interesting is that they told him that. They briefed him and he went the other way. He ignored his staff's recommendation. It's highly unusual, and it's interesting that the Governator is saying we're going to take you to task on this. We're going to court and by all accounts they will likely win that appeal.
[Roberts:] Now under the Clean Air Act, there are four criteria that a state has to meet in order to ask for a waiver. One is that is not a capricious or arbitrary act. The rules have to be tougher than the federal rules. It would seem that California qualifies on that.
[Hostin:] Absolutely.
[Roberts:] It has to be technologically feasible, which seems to be OK, but it also has to prove it's got a unique and compelling case.
[Hostin:] Yes.
[Roberts:] Is that the potential difficulty for California if they launch a suit?
[Hostin:] Well, I think so and it's interesting because it does the Clean Air Act does allow a state to enforce its own air pollution standards if it can demonstrate this compelling and extraordinary circumstance. Look, for the past 40 years, California has been granted these types of waivers and has a lot of present
[Roberts:] But how does California say, we're more deserving than another state is or another country is?
[Hostin:] Well, there's certainly the leader. We know there are a lot of emissions there. I think that is really going to be the tough legal hurdle, but by all accounts they will likely be able to get over that hurdle and we're going to be hearing a lot of this. This is a hot, hot topic.
[Roberts:] This will be an interesting one to watch.
[Hostin:] We'll be watching.
[Roberts:] Sunny, thanks.
[Hostin:] Thank you.
[Roberts:] Veronica?
[De La Cruz:] New this morning. As many of you set out to travel this holiday weekend, another close call in the skies to tell you about now. The FAA says that two Chicago air traffic controllers are to blame for putting a Southwest Airlines 737 and a Beechcraft Super King 200 too close to each other in the air. It happened near Springfield, Illinois, on Wednesday morning. And according to documents, the two planes came within 3.6 miles of each other horizontally. Minimum spacing between planes is five miles horizontally. This is the second controller error reported at the Chicago Radar Center this week. And the four suspects accused in the murder of football star Sean Taylor will be arraigned in Miami today. The four men all entered written pleas of not guilty to charges of first degree felony murder and armed burglary. That means they will not in person at the arraignment. Police say at least two of the men have confessed. And a Missouri man accused of kidnapping and molesting two young boys will make one final court appearance today in St. Louis. Michael Devlin will be sentenced for child pornography and transporting a minor across state lines for sex. He's already been hit with 74 life sentences. Police found 13-year-old Ben Ownby in Devlin's apartment last January, and there was another surprise. A 15-year-old who told police he was Sean Hornbeck. Devlin had been holding Hornbeck captive for four and half years. Four people are in the hospital this morning in New Orleans after protest against a plan to tear down 4,500 public housing units turned violent. Police used tear gas and tasers on the crowd. Protesters say they fear the local and federal government won't guarantee certainly affordable housing to be built in their place.
[Tracie Washington, Attorney:] It's a race issue because the public housing developments were 100 percent black, and these are the people who are not being allowed to return to the city.
[Arnie Fielkow, City Council President:] Not only are we going forward for the future, but we have safeguards in place in the interim that are going to allow us to make sure that HUD and Hanel perform what they promised.
[De La Cruz:] The units were set up after Hurricane Katrina council members claim they are ridden with crime. Fifteen people were arrested. All right. Check this out. There could be some spectacular fireworks in space next month. NASA scientists say Mars may be hit by an asteroid. Right now, the space rock is speeding towards the red planet at a blistering eight miles per second, and there is a one in 75 chance it could hit on January 30th. The asteroid is said to be about the same size as an object that struck Siberia in 1908, causing a blast equivalent to a 15 mega ton nuclear bomb John.
[Roberts:] Incredible.
[De La Cruz:] I know.
[Roberts:] Eight minutes after the hour, and time now to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for other stories new this morning. A New York law will change how passengers are treated when they're stuck on the tarmac for long delays aboard aircraft. Ali Velshi at the business update desk with that. Good Friday morning to you, Ali.
[Ali Velshi, Cnn Correspondent:] And good Friday morning to you. We were just speaking yesterday about the year that it's been in air traffic delays. Well, a New York State law has been upheld in court late last night. It's going to be the country's first passenger bill of rights. New York State is going to be first state with a passenger protection law to go into effect January 1st of 2008. And what it does is it allows the state to sue airlines that break these rules for up to $1,000 per passenger. Now, what are the rules? Fairly complicated. It's not going to allow the state to make airlines deplane passengers. That's not something the states have jurisdiction over, but if they're going to if they have substantial delays, provide adequate snacks and drinking water, fresh air and light, and waste removal for on-board restrooms. The Airlines Air Traffic Association had fought this saying this is not state regulation. It's a non area the state should be involved in, but the federal court in Albany upheld the law last night. So as it stands, this is going to go into effect on January 1st and perhaps other states will follow, John.
[Roberts:] You know, Ali. You would think that those would just be things that they would do.
[Velshi:] Those are basic. You wouldn't think you'd need a law for that.
[Roberts:] Yes. Incredible. Ali, thanks very much. We'll see you again soon. And some heavy weather throughout Louisiana and Mississippi yesterday. That whole thing is now moving east. Reynolds weather Reynolds weather? Reynolds Wolf at our weather desk this morning checking on the extreme weather. Who is getting hit today?
[Reynolds Wolf, Cnn Meteorologist:] Well, it looks like parts of the southeast right now, but we got a good part of the country that will be affected by all different kinds of weather beginning again in parts of Georgia and the Carolinas. Let's go to that now. As we zoom in on those locations, scattered showers and storms this morning from the outer banks of North Carolina southward to Wilmington to Myrtle Beach. Even into Charleston this morning, you're getting a little bit of a rumble of thunder. Savannah, Georgia, getting some rainfall as well, and that's a welcome sign. Georgia still mild in that drought. South of Tampa, and now into Cape Coral we're seeing the rain drops and up into the Great Lakes, it is a touch of light snowfall, more from a southwesterly breeze that is moving in across Lake Michigan. Some of that forming in the spells and snowfall right near parts of Sleeping Bear Dunes and Traverse City. Now take a look what we have for you as we make our way through the rest of the weekend. Big trough in the jet streams is going to provide for some cool and wet conditions for the eastern third of the country, the southern and central plains. But in the central plains going toward the western half, the Great Lakes mainly some snowfall and the pacific northwest, John, it looks like it is going to be mix of everything rain, sleet and snow. The snow in the highest elevations of the cascades and perhaps even the Sierra, Nevada. That's the latest. Let's send it back to you.
[Roberts:] Is that jet stream flow going to bring milder weather to the northeast? Looks like it's bringing it from the south?
[Wolf:] It might be a little bit. You might see a little bit of moderation in temperatures as far north as Charlotte, North Carolina, but not the 70, 80 degrees temperature, we'd love to have in parts of the nation.
[Roberts:] Well, some people want a white Christmas.
[Wolf:] There you go.
[Roberts:] All right. Reynolds, thanks very much.
[Wolf:] Any time.
[Roberts:] Veronica?
[De La Cruz:] Well, they're shaking hands, kissing babies, anything to put them over the top in Iowa. We're on the trail with the presidential candidates, finding out what issues matter most to the voters. We're going to take you behind the scenes. Plus, holiday shoppers headed back to their cars, arms loaded with gifts. They're a prime target for thieves. Susan Candiotti goes on a stakeout with police on operation reindeer keeping shoppers safe. It's all straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.