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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Westerfield Sentenced to Death; Muslim Medical Students Detained in Florida Friday May Lose Internships at Miami Area Hospitals
Aired September 16, 2002 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's Monday, September 16, 2002. I'm Miles O'Brien, in for Wolf Blitzer.
We're watching two important breaking stories for you. In San Diego, as you've just been watching, a decision just reached for convicted child killer David Westerfield. He is to receive death by lethal injection for the kidnapping and murder of Danielle van Dam, 7- years-old. We'll have more on that breaking news story in a moment and as details trickle in from San Diego.
We're also awaiting word on something that could seriously affect the futures of those three Muslim medical students detained in Florida in that terror scare last Friday. They may get kicked out of their internships at Miami area hospitals. We should hear more on that any moment now. We're going to bring you that news conference live as it happens.
Here's a quick recap of that situation that led up to it. As I'm sure you recall it began with a tip from a Georgia woman. Police stopped the three Friday and closed part of the Florida interstate amid concerns they might be planning some kind of terrorist act. That turned out to be a huge misunderstanding. The students say whatever the woman, Eunice Stone, thinks she overheard they weren't planning anything.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMBIZ BUTT, MEDICAL STUDENT: Our conversation at Shoney's had nothing to do with...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: All right, our apologies for that. We'll try to get that to you in a little bit.
The head of the Larkin Community Hospital says the hospital has been inundated by threatening e-mail and phone calls. We expect to hear from the CEO of that hospital very shortly.
Let's turn it now to CNN's Susan Candiotti who has been tracking the story for us -- Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.
Well on his wedding day over the weekend, the sixth man who has now been charged with providing material support to a terrorist organization and he's also an unemployed former delivery man from Lackawanna, New York and a U.S. citizen, was put on a plane in Bahrain and then flown to the United States where he was formally arrested.
Now when this man, Mukhtar al-Bakri, when his plane entered U.S. airspace he was then formally arrested. The sealed warrant was unsealed in that case. Now, al-Bakri faces the same charges as five others who were also arrested over the weekend, also allegedly providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
In particular, this man as well as the others, is said to have flown overseas to Afghanistan in the summer of 2001 and participated in training at one of the al Qaeda camps by the name of al-Faruq.
Now, the FBI says that it has no evidence that any of these men was specifically planning any attacks in the United States or anywhere else and that they don't really know what the men were up to. Today, we spoke with a defense attorney who represents the sixth man who was arrested.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN MOLLOY, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The government has the burden of going forward to show, as Mr. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) said today that my client is both a flight risk and also a danger to the community, so they have to bring someone in. I assume they'll bring in the FBI agent who signed the affidavit to come up with some specifics as to the dangerousness of my client.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Al-Bakri turns out to be the man who had been known as Conspirator C according to the FBI. This means that he was the person who was interviewed just last week on September 11, the anniversary of the attacks, and it was at that time, the FBI says, that he acknowledged that he had been to a training camp and then traveled, and then went on to come back to Lackawanna, New York and then traveled back to Bahrain where he got married and was intending apparently to live there, although that is unclear. His family remains over there.
This means that we still do not know the names of conspirators A and B, well at least until now, but then in an apparent slip up, the justice department included the name, according to a source close to the investigation in today's documents.
So we know now this man also from Lackawanna, New York, Jabir al- Benna (ph). He is believed to currently be in Yemen according to an FBI criminal complaint and all of these men will be appearing during a bond hearing on Wednesday here in Buffalo -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, Susan, we apologize for jumping so abruptly into this story but we are, of course, now talking about the situation in Lackawanna, the Buffalo area, and just give me a sense of whether authorities are giving you any idea as to whether further arrests might be imminent. CANDIOTTI: We do understand that more arrests are imminent, perhaps as early as this week is the indication. Certainly at the very least we expect that we will hear more about A and this man who we know now as B, Jabir al-Benna as the week goes on.
And we certainly hope to learn more about the specifics of the allegations about these men when the FBI, when prosecutors present some evidence in court on Wednesday of this week. That is when they have to prove to the court why, in their opinion, these men are a flight risk and a danger to the community. The government wants to hold these men without bond pending trial. Again, this is a criminal complaint. They have not yet been indicted -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, CNN's Susan Candiotti, thank you very much for joining us from the Buffalo area for the latest on that.
Authorities in New York now have a new tool in the battle against terrorism. In Lackawanna today, Governor George Pataki announced a tip line for people to report suspicious activity that might be related to terrorism. The hotline is staffed by local police and he says it will be available around the clock.
Let's get back to that investigation that Susan was shedding some light on for us. For that we turn to Buffalo once again and we turn to Peter Ahearn who's an FBI special agent-in-charge there involved in this case and Mr. Ahearn good to have you with us first of all. Can you shed any more light for us about what was suspicious about the activities of these men that led authorities in their direction?
PETER AHEARN, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Well, the initial suspicion was the information that we had that we believe came from the Muslim community that these individuals had, in fact, gone to a training camp in Afghanistan. That was the initial tip off.
O'BRIEN: All right, and that in and of itself, the federal government would interpret as a violation of U.S. law, correct?
AHEARN: That is correct and obviously something that we would be very interested in, any U.S. citizen, not just a U.S. citizen but anybody who would be training in any terrorism camp for whatever reason, whether it be a U.S. citizen or anybody else is a concern.
O'BRIEN: I'm curious how this investigation unfolded. It began before the 9/11 attacks and lasted up until this point. Were there various occasions when authorities were ready to make arrests prior to the arrest we just saw?
AHEARN: We were letting the investigation unfold, making sure all our facts were correct, and gathering the evidence. This was a very, very -- situation that we definitely had to make sure the evidence was there. The difference in this obviously is the fact that these individuals are U.S. citizens.
They're not guests of our country. There weren't issues with their visas, things of that nature. We wanted to make sure that prior to charging anybody that we had all the facts that we had to charge and be able to bring it to court as what we're doing now.
O'BRIEN: I know you have to be very tight lipped on this, but if you could give use at least in the abstract a sense of how isolated these al Qaeda cells are, how much communication goes on with other cells or with leadership in Afghanistan or Pakistan?
AHEARN: Well, I think it's a constantly changing situation. It is an issue as to why we are so tight lipped about how we, not just the FBI but everybody else in law enforcement and the intelligence community, don't want to share the techniques that we use because the terrorists look at that. They study what we do. The 9/11 case is a perfect example. It was very, very controlled, the codes that were used.
There was no large scale communication between the members of the conspiracy, the issues like you hear in this community, of course. These were upstanding members of the community. They went to school. They did things. Well that's true but frankly that's the same thing that you heard about a lot of the 19 hijackers.
O'BRIEN: You know I suppose it's very difficult from a law enforcement perspective when you're listening to this so-called chatter and you're going back and forth in code. Having said all of that, with an investigation of this length, were agents able to surmise what the plot might have been?
AHEARN: At this stage, there was no specific plot here that we know about or that we have uncovered. Again, the investigation is going to continue with issues to make sure that we were correct in that. The issues as far as what was going on overseas and other parts of the world, I won't comment on.
O'BRIEN: Well then give us a sense then, if you could, Mr. Ahearn if you can...
AHEARN: Sure.
O'BRIEN: ... of why now? Why the arrest now if there was no plot that you could outline or anything imminent that you could detail?
AHEARN: Well, prior to the arrests, as it was set out in the complaint, some of these individuals were interviewed by the FBI and asked questions with regard to their travel over a year ago, and information was developed last week that actually put them into the training camps.
And at that point, when the evidence was there, as shown in the complaint it was time to go ahead and bring the case down and that's why the decision was made. It had nothing to do with the timing, the intelligence chatter. Maybe it's just the timing in the way the information came to us that solidified it and that's basically how it happened.
O'BRIEN: Peter Ahearn, Special Agent-in-Charge with the FBI in the Buffalo Office, thanks very much for being us. We appreciate it. AHEARN: Thank you for your time.
O'BRIEN: All right, our pleasure.
Well, he bragged about planning September 11 and now he is in U.S. custody. We'll have the latest on a top al Qaeda operative arrested in dramatic fashion in Pakistan.
Also, a California city tells the Feds to butt out of medical marijuana distribution. Who should control local drug policy?
That debate is still to come but first our news quiz. Which is most addictive, coffee, alcohol, marijuana or shopping? The answer is coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: The United States hopes to learn valuable information about al Qaeda from a man described as a key member of the terror group. Just days after his arrest in Karachi, Ramzi Binalsheibh is now in American hands at an undisclosed location outside Pakistan.
Here's CNN Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena with the latest on this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Now that Ramzi Binalsheibh is in U.S. custody, the objective will be to get him to talk.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's the one that thought he was going to be the 20th bomber. He thought he could hide. He thought he could still threaten America, but he forgot the greatest nation on the face of the earth is after him, one person at a time.
ARENA: While he's not believed to be a senior member of the al Qaeda terrorist organization, the information the Binalsheibh provides could be vital and could include intelligence about future attacks. U.S. officials say the plan is to interrogate Binalsheibh at an undisclosed location. It's the same tactic used with considerable success with another al Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah.
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The more of these people that are rolled up and put in jail and interrogated, the more difficult it is to recruit, the more difficult it is to retain people, the more difficult it is to raise money, the more difficult it is to transfer money, the more difficult it is for those folks to move between countries, and the more careful they have to be in everything they have to be in everything they do.
ARENA: During the raids last week in Pakistan, another al Qaeda operative was also taken.
(END VIDEOTAPE) ARENA (on camera): U.S. officials identified that individual as Umar al-Garib (ph). He's the brother of Tasiq Atash Halad (ph) who is thought to be one of the masterminds behind the bombing of the USS Cole.
Miles -- back to you.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Kelli Arena in Washington.
Let's get right down to Miami as quickly as we can. This is the news conference -- just began. You're looking at Dr. Jack Michael who is the CEO of the Larkin Community Hospital, the subject the three medical students. Let's listen in.
DR. JACK MICHAEL, LARKIN COMMUNITY HOSPITAL: In addition, with all of the students' medical education will be adversely compromised due to the current national attention focused upon them. Today at noon, I was involved in a conference call with Kambiz, Ayman, and Omer and representatives from their medical school. The students understand Larkin Community Hospital's position and share in our concern for optimal patient care and safety.
Today's press conference has been called to clarify our position and dispel any existing rumors and misinformation. At Larkin Community Hospital our primary mission is to provide excellent medical care to the patients that we serve. I want to introduce Mr. Altafa Lee of the Florida office of the Council on Islamic Relations.
ALTAFA LEE, COUNCIL ON ISLAMIC RELATIONS: I just want to say at this time, a pleasure discussing with Mr. Michael the current situation and I have a statement here from Mike Honda who is a Congressman in California, San Jose. But before I let you know what he said, I would just like to know -- inform you what our position is here.
We understand that this hospital has a steady concern. We understand they have to protect this institution. At the same time, we feel that we can not allow mere suspicions probably based on prejudice or stereotypes to damage the lives of these innocent individuals.
If we succumb to such intimidation by any group of individuals who have intent to harm the innocents, we are actually setting a bad precedent. We can not allow a small bigoted minority to dictate our future.
Mike Honda who is the San Jose Congressman issued a statement. He said: "In America, citizens are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. My office has been in communication with Ross University and also with Mr. Neil Simon, who is the top deputy at this institution."
He further indicated: "I urged them to give the students the opportunity to continue their lives as students." He further indicates: "Our Constitution is really tested in times of tranquility, but it is tested mostly in the times of tension, turmoil, and tragedy. We must remember to embrace the principles of our Constitution, our contract for democracy and freedom." Thank you.
MICHAEL: I'll take questions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The hospital was saying that the three students can not start today, that they will no longer be in the program but Mr. Lee you're saying that this is unacceptable, is that correct? It sounds like the hospital reached some sort of agreement with the students but I don't understand.
MICHAEL: Well, are you asking Mr. Lee or me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Either one of you. What's next with this.
MICHAEL: We've reached -- I'll answer it and then Mr. Lee can. We've -- I thought it was important to talk to the people that were involved in this and we have. I've also been in contact with Mr. Lee who has been also very involved in making sure that the students got the best education possible and that this wasn't going to harm them in any way.
They are aware of our concerns and they share them and they feel that this is not the best time today or tomorrow to start a rotation at the hospital. That doesn't mean that they're not welcome here. That only means that for now we feel and they agree that this is not a good time to start their rotation at Larkin Hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does that mean (UNINTELLIGIBLE)? Is there a date next week, two weeks, nine weeks?
MICHAEL: OK, they continue enrolled in medical school. Their activities in this particular rotation are varied and include other types of experiences, mainly clinical rotations outside of the hospital. I don't know exactly and I'm not at liberty to discuss, they need to meet with their clinical dean when they come back from California and she will make sure that they are assigned somewhere to continue their training, and obviously that will be their discretion to reveal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
MICHAEL: Si.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING SPANISH)
MICHAEL: (SPEAKING SPANISH)
O'BRIEN: All right at that point, with Dr. Michael turning to Spanish, let's turn our attention to CNN's Mark Potter who's been following this story.
Mark, I must confess, I missed the beginning part of the news conference. As a matter of fact, all our viewers did. If you could just sum up what Dr. Michael said, in other words give us the lead.
MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you didn't miss anything by missing the beginning of the news conference. What he said, the important thing he just said a moment ago and that is that the students will always be welcome at the hospital but not right now. He said that there are still concerns at the hospital because of all the flurry over the activity Friday and the concerns over these young men.
There are concerns about the safety of the patients, the care that they are given, and that this would be something that might detract from that. So, the decision is that this may not be the best time for them to start their rotation. They will not be starting their rotation as was scheduled this week at the hospital.
Perhaps, this can be revisited. They can come back at another time, but the headline is -- is at best their rotation, their visit to Larkin Community Hospital in South Miami is being delayed and it will be revisited at another time. They were scheduled to begin a clinical program, an internship.
They were to start today but as we all know, the situation changed Friday when they were stopped on the highway. Their car was searched and the hospital said that it received lots of threatening e- mail and it can not deal with that now at the same time it's trying to care for patients so that's the decision for now -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, it seems like a bit of a back track on what we heard just yesterday when they were saying we're just going to shut the door here. Am I reading that correctly?
POTTER: To a degree, although they always said over the weekend that they would keep an open mind. They wanted to talk to the Islamic community. They wanted to talk to law enforcement and to the students.
So, this is not really different from what they said if you looked at the nuance statement. If you looked at the headline, yes, but they were indicating over the weekend that they might do something like this. They didn't telegraph it exactly but they said that they would look into it. They didn't close the door when they first spoke and this is what it has come to.
O'BRIEN: All right. Do we expect to hear from the students at all today?
POTTER: We've heard from the students. We just talked to them and they said that they're OK with this. If they have to go to another program, that's fine. They have said they understand what the school is doing. If they go to another program, they just want to make sure that it's comparable.
They're taking a much softer approach today than they were Friday after they were released. They were very angry with the woman who made the statement. Now they say they understand. They say they understand the hospital's position. Everything has softened dramatically from what we first saw on Friday.
O'BRIEN: All right, interesting what a few days, how a few days might change a story like this. CNN's Mark Potter reporting to us from Miami. We do appreciate that. And on Larry King tonight, you'll hear from the trio of students. They'll be talking to Larry 9:00 p.m. Eastern time.
It's time for us to take a break. When we return the other big story we're watching, a jury in San Diego hands up its verdict on the sentencing of David Westerfield, this in the case of the murder of 7- year-old Danielle van Dam. We'll have details in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: So, continuing our coverage of the three medical students who were the focus of so much attention on Friday the 13th, the question at the center of this is what, in fact, did Eunice Stone hear? Did she hear what she thought she heard or was she perhaps part of a frenzy that has swept this nation post 9/11, which might according to some focus unfairly on Muslim-Americans.
For more on this we go to the founder of the Arab-American Institute, Jim Zogby. He joins us from Washington, good to have you with us Dr. Zogby.
DR. JIM ZOGBY, PRESIDENT, ARAB AMERICAN INSTITUTE: Thanks, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, give us a sense, let's assume for the moment that these students were just having a joke and to call it a joke is being charitable to it. It's not funny, of course. It's kind of a sick prank. Does that change the way you view it in any way, the response to it?
ZOGBY: You know, Miles, I think that the problem here is not so much what the students were doing or not doing. I tend to believe them that they didn't say anything. I also tend to believe the waitress who thinks she did hear something. I think this is...
O'BRIEN: Wait a minute. Can you have it both ways though?
ZOGBY: Yes, you actually can. You can have her misinterpreting or misunderstanding or nuances escaping her attention. She was not even their waitress at the time and so she was not in the position to hear the entire conversation but people are afraid, and so people are going to think they hear when they don't hear.
That's the danger of a tips program and that's why Governor Pataki ought to think twice about what he's doing right now in New York by literally encouraging people to call in their prejudices or their misperceptions, et cetera. The problem here is...
O'BRIEN: Well, but to be fair -- to be fair he didn't...
ZOGBY: The problem here is not the woman.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
ZOGBY: The problem is you. CNN covered this thing live as did others and the problem therefore is that it fed the hysteria. Secondly, the problem was with law enforcement. They should have checked out the tip before they shut off part of southern Florida. If they had done so, and actually investigated this beforehand, we might be in a different situation today and I think we'd all be better off for it.
O'BRIEN: But I think you got your order wrong. I think you probably should point the finger at law enforcement first.
ZOGBY: Right.
O'BRIEN: Because it is our coverage of the law enforcement action after all.
ZOGBY: OK.
O'BRIEN: That put everything on TV.
ZOGBY: Of course.
O'BRIEN: I think we would take that point maybe.
ZOGBY: Of course.
O'BRIEN: To what extent is this emblematic do you think of something insidious going on, something that perhaps when the history books are written about this era, it will be in the category of the detention of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
ZOGBY: Or more -- I think more to the point, the kind of anti- nativist hysteria that took place after World War I when we had, you know, people being pummeled to death and the very similar kind of hysteria that time against all things foreign. This time it's more directed specifically at Arabs and Muslims.
I think that's the period but we'll end up feeling bad. We'll be embarrassed and we'll take a look at ourselves and we'll say why did we do it? The point is that we have time for self reflection today and I think the fact that we're even having the conversation, you and I, and there are many others having the conversation, is a good thing, but Governor Pataki ought not to be doing what he's doing in New York.
John Ashcroft learned the lesson and called back the TIPS program in Washington because the FBI was getting literally hundreds of thousands of undigested phone calls that they couldn't do anything with.
O'BRIEN: I mean the point of these TIPS lines is there is so much information that it becomes useless. Let me ask you this before you get away.
ZOGBY: Right.
O'BRIEN: The stakes are so very high right now and the resources are limited. Isn't it justified to engage in some sort of profiling here in order to try to route these people out before they do us harm?
ZOGBY: Well, you profile based on behavior. You profile based on a very complex picture that law enforcement can shape and form. You don't profile based on an overheard conversation. What you do with an overheard conversation that's called in, if you have the resources to do it, is you investigate it first. But think of the enormous law enforcement resources.
Think of the federal and state and local dollars that were wasted there. Think of the time that was used up and think also of the fact that these three students' lives have now been forever altered and that this hospital got hundreds of hate e-mails all because hysteria was allowed to run free.
If we had taken a simple deep breath, investigated first, law enforcement, I think, could have solved this, simply gone to the restaurant and talked to other people and said, Did you also hear anything? Are you sure about what you heard? The backtracking that's taking place now could have taken place then and we would have all been saved a whole lot of problems.
O'BRIEN: James Zogby with the Arab American Institute, always a pleasure to have you with us. Thank you very much.
All right, let's continue our coverage and looking at the broader of war on terrorism, Secretary of State Colin Powell says he is encouraged after discussions about Iraq with members of the U.N. Security Council. Powell wants the U.N. to set a deadline for Iraqi compliance of previous U.N. resolutions and he says he's making some progress.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: I've had quite a number of bilateral meetings and I think the political dynamic has changed and there is a great deal of pressure now being placed upon Iraq to come into compliance with the U.N. mandates of the last 12 years, but it's going to be on the new terms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: President Bush continues to speak out against Iraq as well.
CNN senior White House correspondent, John King, joining us with the latest on that -- hello, John.
KING: Hello to you, Miles.
The president making his case yet again in public trying to sway not only that ongoing debate at the United Nations but also the debate here at home in the United States. Mr. Bush wants the United States Congress to give him a resolution of support within the next several weeks.
So during a trip out to Iowa today -- we should note the president is back at the White House this hour, but he was in Iowa early today -- some domestic politics on his mind, but he also took a chance to address the debate about Iraq and specifically that debate Secretary Powell was just talking about.
In the United Nations Security Council, Mr. Bush making clear he very much wants to resolve this through the United Nations, but he also made clear he has very limited patience. The president saying the United Nations must act and must act soon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: For 11 long years, he has stiffed the world community. I went to the United Nations and said, Either you can be relevant in the world or not. Your pick. We want you to be a part of keeping the peace.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: We want to...
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: We also had another message. We, the world, cannot let the worlds' worst leaders harbor and develop the world's worst weapons. This tyrant must be dealt with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: And word tonight at the United Nations, Miles, is that Iraq might be preparing some letter on the subject of weapons inspections. White House officials say they have not seen that letter, obviously, since it has yet to be presented to the United Nations.
But the White House saying Secretary Powell's message and the president's message will be, This is not the time for negotiating with Iraq, not the time for setting any new conditions on weapons inspections or compliance with any other of those resolutions.
The United States wants a toughly worded resolution out of the Security Council, wants it within the next week or so, wants the United Nations to move very quickly to bring this crisis -- to put the question to Saddam Hussein over the course of the next several weeks -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: John, in your conversations with administration sources, are they giving you any sense -- has anybody tried to put a price tag on possible war with Iraq?
KING: It depends who you ask and I'm sorry to answer that way, but the president's top economic adviser, Larry Lindsey, quoted this morning in the newspapers as saying "perhaps as much as 100 or $200 billion." The Pentagon -- a previous estimate by the Pentagon said perhaps $50 billion.
The White House saying it is impossible to set that number right now, because they say the president first and for most has not decided on the military option.
Then, the question would be if there is a military option is it target airstrikes or is it a full-scale invasion, would the cost figure you're asking for include not only the first wave of strikes but any deployment force in Iraq after as we see in Afghanistan now. If there is a major operation in Iraq, U.S. officials concede there could be U.S. troops on the ground there to stabilize the country for quite some time. How much will that cost? They say they just don't know.
O'BRIEN: All right, CNN's John King at the White House. Thank you very much, sir, we appreciate it.
Time for us to take a break.
A California jury decides the ultimate punishment -- coming up the sentencing of David Westerfield.
Also Al Gore running for president? That's the Internet rumor of the moment, but is it just a cyber-blabber? The real scoop on 2004 and sulfuric acid drifting over Tennessee -- the latest on the toxic train wreck that sent thousands from their homes when we return, but first, news from "Around The World."
A pair of U.S. embassies shuttered last week -- because of the 9/11 anniversary, are open again. U.S. diplomats in Malaysia and Indonesia have resumed normal business.
In Chechnya, several deaths reported after a bomb blast that took place as a bus was going by. Russian authorities are blaming Chechen separatists.
In the Irish Sea, Greenpeace staged an anti-nuclear protest early today. Demonstrators set out in boats to meet a pair of ships bringing nuclear fuel into Britain. They claim the fuel is dangerous and a tempting target for terrorists.
Thousands gathered in Mexico City early today to celebrate Mexican Independence Day. President Vicente Fox gave the traditional cry of independence.
The Great Wall of China provided a dramatic backdrop for tightrope walker's, part of China's International Friendship and Culture Festival. In case you're wondering, there was a safety net under a portion of the tightrope, but it was there to protect the audience not the performers.
And the world's oldest person is 115 today. Japan's Kamato Hongo earned her title after the death of a Michigan woman in March. She is apparently in good health except that she's hard of hearing, but at 115, she's probably heard it all anyway.
And that's our look "Around The World."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) O'BRIEN: Earlier we asked -- which is most addictive: coffee, alcohol, marijuana or shopping? The answer, alcohol. Like cocaine, heroine and nicotine, alcohol triggers a surge in the chemical dopamine in the brain.
Welcome back to CNN. I'm Miles O'Brien in for Wolf Blitzer.
Coming up, we'll go live to San Diego where a jury weighs in on giving the death penalty to a child killer, but first, let's look at some other stories making news right now.
Al Gore has not made up his mind about another run for the White House two years from now. And a report on the Internet is wrong, that's the word from a Gore spokesman today. Online columnist, Matt Drudge, quotes an anonymous source as saying the former vice president is determined to give it another try. The Gore spokesman says he has a more definitive source, Al Gore himself.
And some troubling news for Los Angeles and its air quality -- a new study says a two-week-old baby in L.A. has been exposed to more toxic air pollution than what's acceptable as a cancer risk over a lifetime. Adults in L.A. also are at a high risk from the smoggy air, but the report says children are more vulnerable to pollution than grown-ups. The study was conducted by the National Environmental Trust.
Convicted child killer David Westerfield has been sentenced to death by lethal injection. Less than a half hour ago, a San Diego jury returned that verdict after earlier telling the judge it was deadlocked.
CNN's Thelma Gutierrez joins us from San Diego. She's been tracking this trial all the way through -- Thelma, what's the latest?
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, the jury had been deliberating in the penalty phase of this trial of 50-year-old Westerfield since September 4, a short time ago. The same 12 men and women who convicted David Westerfield of kidnapping and murdering 7- year-old Danielle Van Dam also announced their verdict. They gave him the most severe penalty for that crime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The verdict?
JURY FOREPERSON: We, the jury, in the above-entitled cause determine that the penalty shall be death, dated September 16, 2002, signed Juror Number Ten, Foreperson.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ladies and gentlemen, of the jury, was this and is this your verdict as read?
JURY: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Please poll the verdict. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As I call your number, please answer yes or no to the question --was this and is this your verdict as read. Juror Number One?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Juror number two?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTIERREZ: As he has through most this trial, David Westerfield, stared straight ahead and showed very little reaction. He had a slight tremor as that verdict was read.
Now, just a few moments ago, that jury, Miles, was formerly discharged. The group of six men and six women who were impaneled back in June were thanked by Judge William Mudd and sent on their way. They have set a new hearing for November 22. On that day, Westerfield will be formerly read the death penalty. From there, he will sent to San Quentin where he will sit on death row and possibly await years of appeals.
Now, we had mentioned that it was a very unique and very bizarre set of circumstances. Earlier today, right before noon, the jurors sent the judge a note saying that they were deadlocked; they could not reach a verdict. And then minutes later, they sent the judge another note saying they had reached a verdict. Now Defense Attorney Bob Grimes joins us now.
Bob, can you tell us how bizarre was that particular move?
ROBERT GRIMES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: This is unusual end to an unusual case, Thelma. I've never seen anything like it. Jurors from time-to-time will be deadlocked and they'll -- someone will change their mind and then, have a verdict, but never in a matter of minutes for their deliberation. I've just -- I've never seen anything like it.
GUTIERREZ: Well, on top of that then, Defense Attorney Steven Feldman asked for a mistrial?
GRIMES: Yes, that's true. Feldman is assuming that there was some kind of misconduct or necessarily assuming, but he just wants to know. Judge Mudd, I think, is assuming that there was one hold-out juror who simply changed their mind over the noon hour and that there's nothing improper.
And he may be right, there may be nothing improper, but Feldman will not stop until he finds out. He'll have investigators interviewing the jurors.
GUTIERREZ: All right, thank you very much. And now, so those jurors are now free to speak to the media, Miles. Judge William Mudd lifted the gag order. Those jurors will be entering the courtroom, those who choose to speak and make their identities public, will be able to address the media finally -- Miles, back to you. O'BRIEN: Thelma, as I understand it, according to California law, the judge has the rights and prerogative to turn this in into a life-without-parole sentence, is -- has that been ruled out in the case with Judge Mudd?
GUTIERREZ: Well, you know, technically, Miles, I guess you can say that that is true, that is exactly what Defense Attorney Bob Grimes had said earlier. Though, that's not something that will happen. In fact, they said that what could -- he could go back and say -- he could reduce it to life in prison without the possibility of parole, but these are people who have been impaneled for many months now, who have been doing a lot of work, and so, they say it is really just not likely that the judge will overturn the jury's verdict.
O'BRIEN: OK, CNN's Thelma Gutierrez, thank you very much from San Diego, we appreciate it.
Thousands of Tennessee residents waiting to find out when they can go home. An acid spill from a train derailment outside of Knoxville has created a huge cloud of toxic gas yesterday. Emergency officials are still trying to neutralize it.
Don Dare with our CNN affiliate, WATE, joins us from Knox County with a live update -- Don, what is the latest?
DON DARE, WATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, what a difference a day has made. Cleanup crews have made a lot of success today, clearing up the toxic cloud of sulfuric acid.
But the evacuation continues for people living in 18 different neighborhoods in far West Knox County. Since early today, cleanup crews have been spraying a fine mist on the derailed car carrying the sulfuric acid, some 10,600 gallons. The mist has dampened down and neutralized the toxic plume that rose some 300 feet into the air yesterday, causing the evacuation of 3,000 people in this highly populated area of West Know County. Twenty-five cars derailed. They're all piled high on top of one another in this major north of southern corridor.
The cleanup crews have pretty much diluted the sulfuric acid but not 100 percent at this hour, so emergency managers are very cautious about letting people return. They may allow some of them to return, somewhere around 7:30 or 8:00 tonight. They haven't made that decision. They will be making that decision probably in about another hour and a half.
Miles, what they're doing right now is the cleanup crews are deep inside that tanker holding the toxic sulfuric acid and they're getting the last remnants of that sulfuric acid diluted. It's a slow and very dangerous process.
O'BRIEN: I should say so. We wish them well in that process. Don Dare with our affiliate, WATE, joining us from Knox County, Tennessee. Thanks very much.
Reefer madness in Santa Cruz, California -- the feds bust a medical marijuana grower; now, the city plans to protest. We'll hear from both sides of this green debate when we come back. And David gets a bath, a makeover for Michelangelo's masterpiece.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: In Santa Cruz, California, a battle over medical marijuana heating up. City leaders plan to join medical marijuana users at city hall tomorrow. It's a response to the Drug Enforcement Administration's raid on a local marijuana farm and the arrests of its owners.
CNN national correspondent, Frank Buckley, is in Santa Cruz with the latest -- hello, Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Miles.
At city hall here in Santa Cruz, it'll be a sanctuary for medical users of marijuana. Tomorrow during a demonstration, 10 to 15 users of marijuana will be given their monthly allotment from a local cooperative as city officials and law enforcement officials look on in support. This follows a raid that took place on the local cooperative that was involved in distributing the medically prescribed marijuana, the cooperative run by Valerie and Michael Coral, very prominent leaders in this area of medically prescribed marijuana. They were arrested by the DEA for allegedly violating federal drug laws.
City leaders here say this demonstration is not a condoning of drug use, but they say it is a -- support for the Corals and for patients who use marijuana.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR CHRISTOPHER KROHN, SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA: There's no condoning of smoking marijuana without a prescription. There's nothing -- it's not a smoke-in, it's not -- whatever people might conceive of it as, it isn't. It is a community that cares about community members who are very vulnerable and are suffering from terminal illness and they're medically -- using medically prescribed marijuana to relieve that suffering.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: DEA officials say they are simply following the federal law that marijuana is not allowed. There is no exception, according to the U.S. Supreme Court, for medically allowed marijuana. And they are simply following the law. They haven't said if they will be in attendance tomorrow or if they will making any arrests tomorrow here at city hall --Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Frank Buckley in Santa Cruz. We're not done with this subject. When we return, should the feds leave California's medical marijuana growers alone? We'll have a little debate for you when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) O'BRIEN: We're talking more about this issue of medical marijuana. Ben Rice is with us from Santa Cruz. He is the attorney for the two medicinal pot farmers who were arrested and in Washington, Robert Maginnis with the Family Research Council.
Mr. Rice, let me begin with you. If you could just give me a sense of what the purpose of this pot giveaway is? It seems as if it's a bit provocative.
BEN RICE, DEFENDANTS ATTORNEY: Well, we're not looking at it as an attempt to provoke the government here. We're hoping that by showing the kind of support that Valerie and Michael have and the WHAM community has here in Santa Cruz County, to show what kind of an operation they have, if you will, that this is a patient-based hospice-type organization, where no money changes hands, that these are people who are -- many of whom are terminally ill, who have nowhere else to turn, that this will be a form of education for the state and also show just that we do have this kind of support.
O'BRIEN: Colonel Maginnis, what's the matter with that? The idea here is that for medicinal purposes, for people who are terminally ill; let's provide some relief? How do you respond to that?
ROBERT MAGINNIS, FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: Well, Miles, we certainly want to give sick people medicine, but the fact is that, you know, we don't smoke medicine in order -- at least most people say it's not a very healthy way in which we ingest.
But I think the bottom line, Miles, is that in America, we provide pure properly dosed medicines, not crude substances that are filled with poisons that can suppress the immune system and -- which is like marijuana, you know. We have a problem, obviously, I think, with turning this on its head.
You know the compassion ought to be directed at the hundreds and thousands of, especially young Americans today, who, you know, by the time they are at high school, about 50 percent are using -- that can't really think straight, that are driving while, you know, using this substance, and are really having some terrible medical consequences. Some parents, quite frankly, can't find the treatment for them.
So let's make sure compassion is appropriately applied her and not just to the few that are alleged to be suffering.
O'BRIEN: All right, Colonel Maginnis, you put a lot on the plate. Let's go back to Mr. Rice here. The argument here is that this is a bad example for children who we don't want to encourage to use marijuana after all. How do you respond to that, Mr. Rice?
RICE: Well, this is -- well, this is -- this is not about whether marijuana should be legalized or decriminalized. This is just about whether or not these patients should be allowed, as they are, under California law, to follow their doctor's advice and use medical marijuana.
O'BRIEN: But it is a violation of federal law -- wait, it is a violation of federal law and isn't that a message...
RICE: It is.
O'BRIEN: ... a rather overt message to young people?
RICE: Well, I think that the voters of the state of California have overwhelmingly declared that medical marijuana is something that should be available to doctors and patients.
And it's unfortunate that the feds haven't, as of yet, removed medical marijuana off the schedule one. I mean doctors prescribe every day; really serious medicines to people that are much more -- they have a lot more side effects and have a lot more deleterious effects than marijuana. We should make this a doctor-patient decision.
O'BRIEN: Colonel Maginnis, you know, I began by asking Mr. Rice if what is being planned for tomorrow is provocative. You could make a case of what the federal government did was provocative in this case. And your point is well taken, that you don't want to send the wrong message to children, but by making the arrest, drawing attention, hasn't the federal government unwittingly drawn more attention to the whole idea?
MAGINNIS: Well, no doubt, Miles, it's drawn attention to it, but keep in mind, we're a system of federalism and what happened in Santa Cruz is an example of how federalism works. You know you can protest...
O'BRIEN: Well, what about state rights? What about state rights?
MAGINNIS: Well, you can protest against a federal law and try to change it, but don't pause at the ridiculous notion that a state can decriminalize something that the federal government has criminalized, you know.
We need a -- to go through a legitimate process of getting the federal government -- there are representatives and senators in California who can vote in the Congress and say, "We don't like the Controlled Substance Act. We want to get it changed and removed."
Now, recently that was -- the process was executed and the DEA and the HHS delivered a decision that said basically, "No, we disagree that this should not be changed." And the Supreme Court said, you know, last year, frankly, that, you know, marijuana is not to be delivered legally to sick people in California.
O'BRIEN: All right, we're going to have to leave it there, unfortunately. Time does not permit a little more of a debate on this, although we could go on undoubtedly. Ben Rice, Robert Maginnis, we appreciate your time here on CNN.
And here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our "Web Question of The Day" -- should the feds learn to leave California's medical marijuana growers alone? Vote at cnn.com/wolf. While you're there, send us your comments. We'll do our best to ready some of them on the air each day, time permitting, also, read our daily on-line column at cnn.com/wolf.
Now let's go to New York and get a preview of "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE," which begins right at the top of the hour as always -- hello, Lou.
LOU DOBBS, HOST, "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE": Hello, Miles. Thank you.
The latest on the round up of the al Qaeda suspects in Pakistan and Buffalo, New York.
Also, I'll have a live interview with the former CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch tonight. We'll be talking about this controversial retirement package for which he has been vilified in many parts of the press. We'll be talking about his decision to return most of that compensation package.
The U.S. armed forces are preparing for war against Iraq. Former Democratic Senator, Bob Kerry, will be here. He'll tell us why military action is necessary in his view.
And a bitterly cold weather winter could be ahead of us, that's the view of the "Farmer's Almanac" and the managing editor of "Farmer's Almanac," Sandy Duncan will join us. All of that and a great deal more ahead here. Please join us at the top of the hour.
Now, back to Miles O'Brien.
O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, Lou. A cold winter and high heating prices are predicted, so you might want to tune into that and see what's ahead. We're going to take a break. We'll be back with a few parting words in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Well, 129 years is an awful long time to wait for a bath, but that's exactly what is happening right now in Florence. Let's look at our "Picture of The Day."
Italian cleaners are wiping away a century of grime or so from Michelangelo's statue of David. It'll take about six months to scrub all of the 16-and-a-half feet of the marble masterpiece. Typical of boys, David's ears are awfully dirty, hard to clean. They'll use special Q-tip type cleaners for them.
Now, here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of The Day." Earlier we asked -- should the feds leave California's medical marijuana growers alone? Eight-three percent of you said, yes, 17 percent said, no. Remember, nothing scientific about that poll.
That's all the time we have today. Wolf Blitzer will be back tomorrow at 5:00 Eastern. Until then, I'm Miles O'Brien. Thanks very much for watching. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" begins right now. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
