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CNN Live At Daybreak
Constitutional Iraq; Three American Muslims Convicted; What Causes Autism?; Another Capitol Hill Intelligence Scandal
Aired March 05, 2004 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to this second half hour of DAYBREAK for Friday, March 5, from CNN's headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Catherine Callaway. Thank you very much for being with us.
We're going to take you now live to Sedgefield, England, where we are waiting for British Prime Minister Tony Blair to walk through that door to speak to his constituents, giving another speech on just why he joined Washington in the war on Iraq. Of course we are waiting for him to speak. Matthew Chance is there. He will give us a full report on what the prime minister had to say at the top of the hour.
In other news, the same-sex marriage issue heats up in New York. A gay rights group says that it will file a lawsuit in Manhattan's state court today seeking marriage rights for gays and lesbians.
And in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. has a court hearing today. He is accused of the November kidnapping of college student Dru Sjodin. Sjodin has been missing since November 22.
In Venezuela, opponents of President Hugo Chavez demonstrate to demand the release of some 350 people that were arrested during recent demonstrations there.
And across the U.S., consumer confidence is up from last month. The index that checks on such things finds Americans are apparently feeling better about their own finances, as well as the national economy.
We update the top stories for you every 15 minutes. The next update, of course, coming up at 5:45 Eastern Time.
Well it is a history-making day in Iraq, women will soon take office, a justice system will be established and there will be freedom of religion and an interim constitution will be signed in just a few hours in Iraq.
Let's go to CNN's Ben Wedeman who is joining us from Baghdad this morning.
Hello -- Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hello, Catherine.
Well a potentially historic day, but already reminders of the trouble that could lie ahead for any future Iraqi governing body. Throughout the morning, we heard a series of loud explosions here in Baghdad. According to coalition officials, six or seven explosions went off at the U.S.-controlled Baghdad International Airport. No injury or damages reported there.
But there is massive security in one part of Baghdad where the members of the Iraqi Governing Council will be signing later today an interim constitution. Now this interim constitution is considered, Catherine, an important stepping stone for the transfer of power from the U.S.-led coalition provisional authority to an Iraqi government, which is scheduled to occur on the 30th of June.
Now the -- this interim constitution includes a variety of things. It stipulates that Islam will be a source of legislation, not the source of legislation as was requested or demanded by some Islamic conservatives. It includes a bill of rights, covers freedom of religion, freedom of expression and also stipulates that 25 percent of the members of a future Iraqi National Assembly must be women.
But despite this popular opinion, on the streets is mixed about this constitution. Most people more concerned about security, about the ability of whoever runs this country to try to prevent the kind of bombings that have taken place in Iraq over the last months -- Catherine.
CALLAWAY: These citizens waiting all these years for the freedom that these -- that this interim constitution could give them really can't enjoy the possibility now for fear of more violence.
WEDEMAN: Well certainly this constitution lays out really the basic steps that will allow for democracy, human rights, freedom of speech, the sort of thing that Iraqis have been deprived of for decades. But as I said, the real concern for most people is security. Because if you are afraid to go out on the street, afraid to go to the mosque, policemen are afraid to work, then really democracy is a luxury some people just don't care for at this point. They want security -- Catherine.
CALLAWAY: Of course they do. Thank you. CNN's Ben Wedeman live from Baghdad this morning for us.
And British Prime Minister Tony Blair speaking right now to his constituents again explaining why he did take part in the Iraqi war joining Washington in the fight that took place in Iraq. This is from Sedgefield, England. Of course we have CNN's Matthew Chance there listening and will give us a full report on what the prime minister had to say coming up at the top of the hour.
Meanwhile, a top U.S. commander saw indications before Tuesday's bombings that attacks were being planned in Iraq. And General John Abizaid said that those indications helped U.S. forces thwart key parts of what he calls a very broad plan of attacks. He heads the U.S. Central Command and was interviewed on PBS.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: The real target is not the United States of America. The real target is creating enough chaos in Iraq so that an extremist government can emerge there that would be friendly and conducive to the form of ideology that bin Laden, Zawahiri and Zarqawi believe in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: Now the general says that attacks in Mosul in the north and Basra in the south were among those planned but not carried out.
On Capitol Hill, some intense questioning for the top guns at major intelligence agencies. At issue, Iraq's illusive weapons of mass destruction. Now the Senate Intelligence Committee grilled the CIA director George Tenet and others about intelligence which showed a stronger threat from Iraq than what has been revealed. The committee is expected to release a report in April on whether pre-war intelligence was flawed.
CNN has learned that the U.S. plans to put the squeeze on Osama bin Laden. The U.S. plans to conduct around the clock monitoring of the religion that he is suspected of hiding in. Officials believe the al Qaeda leader is hiding in the mountainous border between Pakistan and Afghan -- Afghanistan, rather. Among other things, the U.S. plans to use U-2 spy planes and predator drones to take pictures and intercept communications in that region.
Three American Muslims accused of training for a holy war against the U.S. have been convicted of conspiring to support terrorists. Prosecutors say that they waged paintball battles to train.
Here is CNN's Kelli Arena with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: A huge outpouring of support outside the courthouse from the Muslim community. Even the judge said she believed the defendants may be good family members but she found all three men guilty of supporting terrorism, specifically (UNINTELLIGIBLE), a group fighting for the liberation of Kashmir and designated a terrorist organization by the United States.
The case grabbed early attention because of a claim by prosecutors that the group of nearly a dozen men got jihad training by playing paint ball. Back in June before being charged, one of the defendants denied any link to terrorism.
HAMMAD ABDUR RAHEIM, DEFENDANT: We have denied this. Everyone has denied this. There's no proof of this. We're just playing a game.
ARENA: One defendant, Masoud Khan (ph), was convicted of the most serious charges of levying war against the U.S. and conspiracy to contribute services to the Taliban. KHAKER EL-SAYED, MUSLIM AMERICAN SOCIETY: It is evident that Muslims do not and should not expect justice under the rule of paranoia in the United States.
ARENA: The government says the case is not about Islam. It's about terrorism.
PAUL MCNULTY, U.S. ATTORNEY: The truth is, that a lot of powerful evidence was presented. The defendants were found incredible in their own testimony.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: Let's check in with Rob now and get another look at the weather -- Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Catherine.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CALLAWAY: Well it is a mystery that has confounded medical experts and haunted parents, what causes autism. A six-year study that suggests one cause is now under a cloud of controversy.
Here's CNN's Holly Firfer with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It touched off a maelstrom of controversy.
A 1998 study published in the British medical journal "Lancet" suggested a link between autism and a vaccine called for measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR. Now the lead researcher of that study is under investigation for allegedly taking a payoff from lawyers from parents who claim their children were harmed by the vaccination; 10 other authors of the study are retracting the findings, saying there is not a causal link between the vaccine and the disorder, a conclusion that led to much debate.
Even the British prime minister is weighing in.
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: There is absolutely no evidence to support this link between MMR and autism. If there was, I can assure you, any government would be looking at it and trying to act on it. And I hope that people, now that they see that the situation is somewhat different than they were led to believe have the triple jabs, because it's important to do it.
FIRFER: Autism is a brain disorder that can cause children to develop poor social and communication skills and repetitive behaviors. Doctors still do not definitively know what causes the disorder, but the mere suggestion in that 1998 study that the MMR vaccine might be a contributing factor prompted parents like Laurie Laird to refuse to vaccinate their children. Her daughter Madeline (ph) contracted measles and it will be years before they know if there's permanent damage.
LAURIE LAIRD, PARENT: We're angry. This is a disease that can be prevented. There's a safe, effective vaccination. There's no reason that this child had to suffer like this.
FIRFER: The American Academy of Pediatrics, the Institute of Medicine, and the World Health Organization all denounce any link to the disorder and recommend all children be vaccinated for measles, mumps and rubella at the age of one.
Holly Firfer, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: An autism researcher suggests that the lead author of that study may be a scapegoat. In fact, Dr. Robert Hendren spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Dr. Robert Hendren is the executive director of MIND Institute at U.C.-Davis, which studies neurodevelopmental disorders. He's here to help sort all this out for us.
Thanks very much for being with us, Doctor.
Can you unring the bell?
DR. ROBERT HENDREN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MIND INSTITUTE, U.C.- DAVIS: Well, I don't think you can undo what was done, but I think people are not saying the findings are false. They're saying that the conclusion that the author drew or suggested is not right.
(CROSSTALK)
HENDREN: And they can't support that.
COOPER: Well, let's go back, first of all, and look at how they came to this widely disputed conclusion. What was it that brought them to that place?
HENDREN: Well, there were 12 children. They did a biopsy of the gut of these children that had autism. And they found the measles virus in the gut.
Now, doing that doesn't mean that the measles virus is associated with autism or causes autism. It means you find this in their gut and they have autism. And, in the discussion, there was some suggestion that maybe there is a relationship between the measles virus, excessive amounts in the gut and these young people who had autism. So then people took that to say, oh, this is a causal link.
The authors were saying, no, they don't think it's a causal link, necessarily, but it didn't mean that there isn't a reason to investigate it further.
COOPER: But, in Britain, large numbers of people then stopped getting this vaccination.
HENDREN: Right. And that's the big problem.
And I think that's why people are trying to discredit Dr. Wakefield to say, listen, this guy has no credibility or we don't support him, because we want you to get the vaccine. And it's important that people get the vaccine. But it seems, in some ways, too bad that this man is being put up as a target, when he said here's an interesting finding. It deserves more research.
COOPER: Well, now, the questions around him surround payments that he received, I suppose, or may or may not have received -- I'm not quite clear on the details of it -- from lawyers who were possibly thinking about suing the vaccine makers. There's some discrepancy as to when he may have received the payments, is that correct?
HENDREN: Right. And I don't know that any of us know the exact inside story of when he got some money. But the money, though, was to continue the studies of children that had G.I. symptoms who had autism to see if there were measles virus in an excessive amount in their gut.
So it was like they were continuing to fund studies of his to look in those directions, not paying him to make an association between MMR and autism, as is in some ways being implied, that this guy took money.
COOPER: But "The Lancet" says they were unaware that he had received any sorts of funding from these attorneys.
HENDREN: Right.
Increasingly, it's really important that researchers, you know, give every evidence of any kind of bias that might go into their research. His receiving the money doesn't mean that he had bias in his research or that he falsified the findings or that he lied. It only meant that we ought to be able to know what other people might influence him -- might be influencing him to make his findings slant one way or another.
COOPER: So as a -- beyond what is happening to Dr. Wakefield and whatever sort of legal issues may arise from that, is there still some sort of interest in terms of your interest, in terms of the medical community, in looking at any relationship between vaccinations and autism?
HENDREN: There's a real interest in looking at immune function in autism. We think that there may be some impairment in the immune function in autism.
The suggestion that the MMR vaccine people are saying is that these children may be particularly sensitive to this vaccine. You know, all of the evidence up to this point doesn't seem to support that theory. But it doesn't mean it's not worth pursuing at some level or another, whether it's looking at immune function and susceptibility to autism or looking at just different kind of bowel problems and that association.
So the research is worth doing. And I think that's what Dr. Wakefield was trying to say. Let's pursue this more and try and understand what might be at the root cause of this.
COOPER: It's a confusing subject.
Dr. Robert Hendren, you made it a lot clearer tonight. Thank you very much. Appreciate that.
HENDREN: Thank you for asking me. Bye.
COOPER: All right.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: And Dr. Hendren says that it's also a good idea to conduct research into immune function and autism.
Playing dirty on Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: I am mortified that this improper, unethical and simply unacceptable breach of confidential files occurred.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: Leaks, spying and stealing all in the halls of Congress.
And on the next hour of DAYBREAK, what today might bring for Martha Stewart. Kendall Coffey will join us live.
You're watching DAYBREAK for Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CALLAWAY: Fifteen minutes before the hour now. Here's a quick look at our top stories.
Right now British Prime Minister Tony Blair is appearing before his constituents explaining why he joined the U.S. in the war in Iraq. You're looking at a live picture.
Meanwhile, Iraq's Governing Council plans to sign an interim constitution today. That agreement includes democratic legal principles and is considered key to U.S. plans to transfer power to Iraqis in June.
In Haiti, about 500 Marines are expected to arrive in Haiti this weekend. They will join 500 Marines already there patrolling the capital after President Aristide was ousted.
And we update the top stories for you every 15 minutes. And our next update is coming up at 6:00 Eastern Time.
Well another intelligence scandal has hit Capitol Hill. Two former Republican staffers may have broken the law by downloading thousands of computer files from Senate Democrats.
Here's our Joe Johns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After a closed door meeting the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee condemned what investigators had uncovered.
SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: I am mortified that this improper, unethical and simply unacceptable breach of confidential files occurred.
JOHNS: Senator Pat Leahy said the unauthorized access of computer memos about President Bush's judicial nominees was even more serious than that.
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: I feel that it's not difficult to conclude that this was criminal behavior.
JOHNS: The controversy goes back to October, 2001. The report says a Republican clerk for the committee, Jason Lundell, learned how to look at personal files of committee staff and over 18 months "downloaded thousands of documents, the majority of which appeared to be from folders of Democratic staff."
Lundell didn't act alone. The report says he showed a committee lawyer, Manuel Miranda what he was doing and Miranda encouraged him to do it. Miranda told CNN he did nothing illegal or unethical and that he is "worried about absolutely nothing." He says he was free to look because there were no security measures on the Democratic files.
Last November, a handful of the documents were leaked to two newspapers and posted on a conservative Internet site. Conservative activists say the memos show how Democrats on the committee and outside groups coordinated their opposition to the president's court choices.
KAY DALY, COALITION FOR A FAIR JUDICIARY: The real crime of what's going on here the real abuse of the system is locked away in the content of these memos and that's the frightening part to me.
JOHNS: One memo on the website asserted that civil rights leaders identified court nominee Miguel Estrada as "especially dangerous because he has a minimal paper trail. He is Latino and the White House seems to be grooming him for a Supreme Court appointment."
The committee must still decide whether to ask the Justice Department to investigate. Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: Stay with us, everyone, we will check the weather just ahead. Also coming up next hour, Barry Bonds trying to keep his eye on the ball as the steroid scandal goes on. Chris Cotter will be along to talk about what this might mean for Bonds and to baseball.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CALLAWAY: Hey, Rob, we're going to take a look at some of the front pages that are going to be on everyone's driveway this morning.
MARCIANO: OK, what do you have?
CALLAWAY: Hey, take a look at this one from the "Sun-Sentinel," of course that's in South Florida. Very interesting articles on the situation in Haiti. One -- on the one side of the paper, on the left side of the paper is about one man's struggle to get back home to Haiti since violence broke out there. And on the other side of the photograph is another man's struggle to get home from Haiti. Very interesting articles there and how that's affecting South Florida.
And then let's move on now to the "Statesman Journal." Hundreds of same-sex couples make history in Multnomah. Lots of couples flying over there to get married, and some people not very happy about it. People saying they are going to fight the marriages in Oregon.
MARCIANO: Interesting area. Multnomah County, extremely liberal county, and then the surrounding rural counties of Oregon are conservative. So it's kind of a hotbed for political issues, always.
CALLAWAY: All right. We're going to take you now to the "Chicago Tribune," the "Red Eye." Do we have time to do that one? We don't have time. We'll try to do that one later. That was on television decency.
MARCIANO: OK.
CALLAWAY: I like that one.
We're going to get right to weather. We're running out of time.
MARCIANO: All right, we'll try to keep our TV decent here.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CALLAWAY: Coming up next on DAYBREAK, after a wrong turn down the road of life, a father returns to his roots.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CALLAWAY: Well this is a big weekend for a former fighter who has made a comeback. Long-lost Ernie Lopez has gone from homeless to hero. And reporter Barry Carpenter of CNN affiliate KDAF in Dallas-Fort Worth has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARRY CARPENTER, KDAF-TV REPORTER (voice-over): It's been a long road for 58-year-old former welterweight contender Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez. He arrived at DFW with a one-way ticket to Los Angeles and a newspaper with him on the front page.
ERNIE LOPEZ, BOXING HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE: I didn't think I'd ever be on the front page here of the "Star-Telegram," you know.
CARPENTER: But Lopez was no stranger to the sports page or boxing magazines. That's him in his Indian Red warm-up and here in a 1970 title fight lost to Jose Napoles. He and his wife divorced in 1972. Then in 1973, he lost another title fight to Napoles.
(on camera): Those losses were apparently so devastating that Lopez simply disappeared, wandering the country for years, ultimately winding up here at a Fort Worth homeless shelter.
(voice-over): Lopez would sometimes contact family members. But for the past 10 years, he vanished. But family members in Los Angeles found out that Lopez had been inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame. L.A. police tracked him to this shelter and this bed. Now he and his tattered duffel bag are off to L.A.
LOPEZ: You know got a hold of me and said they're going to put me in the Boxing Hall of Fame down in California. You know I got a pretty good record, so.
CARPENTER: Fifty-one, 10 and 1, to be exact, but his biggest win may be seeing his family again, former wife, four kids and 23 grandchildren who won't let him disappear again.
LOPEZ: That's what they told me, she says you better start keeping in touch with us.
CARPENTER: The Presbyterian Night Shelter has been his home for months. Friends there say the once-fierce fighter is incredibly humble.
DENNIS PENNINGTON, PRESBYTERIAN NIGHT SHELTER: We didn't even know he boxed. He doesn't go around talking about it. He's just humble. He is a genuinely nice guy.
CARPENTER: Lopez may have never been a world boxing champion, but he has earned the title of L.A.'s most wanted dad.
LOPEZ: That's going to be nice. That will be good. Not too many people get that -- get that opportunity, I don't believe, but I'm thankful that I got it.
CARPENTER: In Dallas, Barry Carpenter for CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: Stay with us, everyone, the next hour of CNN DAYBREAK begins right now.
Good morning, everyone, it is Friday, March 5. From the CNN headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Catherine Callaway. I'm in for Carol this morning.
Here's the headlines.
President Bush hosts Mexican President Vicente Fox at his Texas ranch today. He may use the event to announce a change in how some Mexicans enter the U.S.
And U.S. Marines expand their patrols in Haiti, but militant supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide remain defiant there and rebels are not giving up the guns like they said they would.
Deliberations resume this morning in the trial...
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What Causes Autism?; Another Capitol Hill Intelligence Scandal>
Aired March 5, 2004 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to this second half hour of DAYBREAK for Friday, March 5, from CNN's headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Catherine Callaway. Thank you very much for being with us.
We're going to take you now live to Sedgefield, England, where we are waiting for British Prime Minister Tony Blair to walk through that door to speak to his constituents, giving another speech on just why he joined Washington in the war on Iraq. Of course we are waiting for him to speak. Matthew Chance is there. He will give us a full report on what the prime minister had to say at the top of the hour.
In other news, the same-sex marriage issue heats up in New York. A gay rights group says that it will file a lawsuit in Manhattan's state court today seeking marriage rights for gays and lesbians.
And in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. has a court hearing today. He is accused of the November kidnapping of college student Dru Sjodin. Sjodin has been missing since November 22.
In Venezuela, opponents of President Hugo Chavez demonstrate to demand the release of some 350 people that were arrested during recent demonstrations there.
And across the U.S., consumer confidence is up from last month. The index that checks on such things finds Americans are apparently feeling better about their own finances, as well as the national economy.
We update the top stories for you every 15 minutes. The next update, of course, coming up at 5:45 Eastern Time.
Well it is a history-making day in Iraq, women will soon take office, a justice system will be established and there will be freedom of religion and an interim constitution will be signed in just a few hours in Iraq.
Let's go to CNN's Ben Wedeman who is joining us from Baghdad this morning.
Hello -- Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hello, Catherine.
Well a potentially historic day, but already reminders of the trouble that could lie ahead for any future Iraqi governing body. Throughout the morning, we heard a series of loud explosions here in Baghdad. According to coalition officials, six or seven explosions went off at the U.S.-controlled Baghdad International Airport. No injury or damages reported there.
But there is massive security in one part of Baghdad where the members of the Iraqi Governing Council will be signing later today an interim constitution. Now this interim constitution is considered, Catherine, an important stepping stone for the transfer of power from the U.S.-led coalition provisional authority to an Iraqi government, which is scheduled to occur on the 30th of June.
Now the -- this interim constitution includes a variety of things. It stipulates that Islam will be a source of legislation, not the source of legislation as was requested or demanded by some Islamic conservatives. It includes a bill of rights, covers freedom of religion, freedom of expression and also stipulates that 25 percent of the members of a future Iraqi National Assembly must be women.
But despite this popular opinion, on the streets is mixed about this constitution. Most people more concerned about security, about the ability of whoever runs this country to try to prevent the kind of bombings that have taken place in Iraq over the last months -- Catherine.
CALLAWAY: These citizens waiting all these years for the freedom that these -- that this interim constitution could give them really can't enjoy the possibility now for fear of more violence.
WEDEMAN: Well certainly this constitution lays out really the basic steps that will allow for democracy, human rights, freedom of speech, the sort of thing that Iraqis have been deprived of for decades. But as I said, the real concern for most people is security. Because if you are afraid to go out on the street, afraid to go to the mosque, policemen are afraid to work, then really democracy is a luxury some people just don't care for at this point. They want security -- Catherine.
CALLAWAY: Of course they do. Thank you. CNN's Ben Wedeman live from Baghdad this morning for us.
And British Prime Minister Tony Blair speaking right now to his constituents again explaining why he did take part in the Iraqi war joining Washington in the fight that took place in Iraq. This is from Sedgefield, England. Of course we have CNN's Matthew Chance there listening and will give us a full report on what the prime minister had to say coming up at the top of the hour.
Meanwhile, a top U.S. commander saw indications before Tuesday's bombings that attacks were being planned in Iraq. And General John Abizaid said that those indications helped U.S. forces thwart key parts of what he calls a very broad plan of attacks. He heads the U.S. Central Command and was interviewed on PBS.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: The real target is not the United States of America. The real target is creating enough chaos in Iraq so that an extremist government can emerge there that would be friendly and conducive to the form of ideology that bin Laden, Zawahiri and Zarqawi believe in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: Now the general says that attacks in Mosul in the north and Basra in the south were among those planned but not carried out.
On Capitol Hill, some intense questioning for the top guns at major intelligence agencies. At issue, Iraq's illusive weapons of mass destruction. Now the Senate Intelligence Committee grilled the CIA director George Tenet and others about intelligence which showed a stronger threat from Iraq than what has been revealed. The committee is expected to release a report in April on whether pre-war intelligence was flawed.
CNN has learned that the U.S. plans to put the squeeze on Osama bin Laden. The U.S. plans to conduct around the clock monitoring of the religion that he is suspected of hiding in. Officials believe the al Qaeda leader is hiding in the mountainous border between Pakistan and Afghan -- Afghanistan, rather. Among other things, the U.S. plans to use U-2 spy planes and predator drones to take pictures and intercept communications in that region.
Three American Muslims accused of training for a holy war against the U.S. have been convicted of conspiring to support terrorists. Prosecutors say that they waged paintball battles to train.
Here is CNN's Kelli Arena with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: A huge outpouring of support outside the courthouse from the Muslim community. Even the judge said she believed the defendants may be good family members but she found all three men guilty of supporting terrorism, specifically (UNINTELLIGIBLE), a group fighting for the liberation of Kashmir and designated a terrorist organization by the United States.
The case grabbed early attention because of a claim by prosecutors that the group of nearly a dozen men got jihad training by playing paint ball. Back in June before being charged, one of the defendants denied any link to terrorism.
HAMMAD ABDUR RAHEIM, DEFENDANT: We have denied this. Everyone has denied this. There's no proof of this. We're just playing a game.
ARENA: One defendant, Masoud Khan (ph), was convicted of the most serious charges of levying war against the U.S. and conspiracy to contribute services to the Taliban. KHAKER EL-SAYED, MUSLIM AMERICAN SOCIETY: It is evident that Muslims do not and should not expect justice under the rule of paranoia in the United States.
ARENA: The government says the case is not about Islam. It's about terrorism.
PAUL MCNULTY, U.S. ATTORNEY: The truth is, that a lot of powerful evidence was presented. The defendants were found incredible in their own testimony.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: Let's check in with Rob now and get another look at the weather -- Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Catherine.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CALLAWAY: Well it is a mystery that has confounded medical experts and haunted parents, what causes autism. A six-year study that suggests one cause is now under a cloud of controversy.
Here's CNN's Holly Firfer with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It touched off a maelstrom of controversy.
A 1998 study published in the British medical journal "Lancet" suggested a link between autism and a vaccine called for measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR. Now the lead researcher of that study is under investigation for allegedly taking a payoff from lawyers from parents who claim their children were harmed by the vaccination; 10 other authors of the study are retracting the findings, saying there is not a causal link between the vaccine and the disorder, a conclusion that led to much debate.
Even the British prime minister is weighing in.
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: There is absolutely no evidence to support this link between MMR and autism. If there was, I can assure you, any government would be looking at it and trying to act on it. And I hope that people, now that they see that the situation is somewhat different than they were led to believe have the triple jabs, because it's important to do it.
FIRFER: Autism is a brain disorder that can cause children to develop poor social and communication skills and repetitive behaviors. Doctors still do not definitively know what causes the disorder, but the mere suggestion in that 1998 study that the MMR vaccine might be a contributing factor prompted parents like Laurie Laird to refuse to vaccinate their children. Her daughter Madeline (ph) contracted measles and it will be years before they know if there's permanent damage.
LAURIE LAIRD, PARENT: We're angry. This is a disease that can be prevented. There's a safe, effective vaccination. There's no reason that this child had to suffer like this.
FIRFER: The American Academy of Pediatrics, the Institute of Medicine, and the World Health Organization all denounce any link to the disorder and recommend all children be vaccinated for measles, mumps and rubella at the age of one.
Holly Firfer, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: An autism researcher suggests that the lead author of that study may be a scapegoat. In fact, Dr. Robert Hendren spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Dr. Robert Hendren is the executive director of MIND Institute at U.C.-Davis, which studies neurodevelopmental disorders. He's here to help sort all this out for us.
Thanks very much for being with us, Doctor.
Can you unring the bell?
DR. ROBERT HENDREN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MIND INSTITUTE, U.C.- DAVIS: Well, I don't think you can undo what was done, but I think people are not saying the findings are false. They're saying that the conclusion that the author drew or suggested is not right.
(CROSSTALK)
HENDREN: And they can't support that.
COOPER: Well, let's go back, first of all, and look at how they came to this widely disputed conclusion. What was it that brought them to that place?
HENDREN: Well, there were 12 children. They did a biopsy of the gut of these children that had autism. And they found the measles virus in the gut.
Now, doing that doesn't mean that the measles virus is associated with autism or causes autism. It means you find this in their gut and they have autism. And, in the discussion, there was some suggestion that maybe there is a relationship between the measles virus, excessive amounts in the gut and these young people who had autism. So then people took that to say, oh, this is a causal link.
The authors were saying, no, they don't think it's a causal link, necessarily, but it didn't mean that there isn't a reason to investigate it further.
COOPER: But, in Britain, large numbers of people then stopped getting this vaccination.
HENDREN: Right. And that's the big problem.
And I think that's why people are trying to discredit Dr. Wakefield to say, listen, this guy has no credibility or we don't support him, because we want you to get the vaccine. And it's important that people get the vaccine. But it seems, in some ways, too bad that this man is being put up as a target, when he said here's an interesting finding. It deserves more research.
COOPER: Well, now, the questions around him surround payments that he received, I suppose, or may or may not have received -- I'm not quite clear on the details of it -- from lawyers who were possibly thinking about suing the vaccine makers. There's some discrepancy as to when he may have received the payments, is that correct?
HENDREN: Right. And I don't know that any of us know the exact inside story of when he got some money. But the money, though, was to continue the studies of children that had G.I. symptoms who had autism to see if there were measles virus in an excessive amount in their gut.
So it was like they were continuing to fund studies of his to look in those directions, not paying him to make an association between MMR and autism, as is in some ways being implied, that this guy took money.
COOPER: But "The Lancet" says they were unaware that he had received any sorts of funding from these attorneys.
HENDREN: Right.
Increasingly, it's really important that researchers, you know, give every evidence of any kind of bias that might go into their research. His receiving the money doesn't mean that he had bias in his research or that he falsified the findings or that he lied. It only meant that we ought to be able to know what other people might influence him -- might be influencing him to make his findings slant one way or another.
COOPER: So as a -- beyond what is happening to Dr. Wakefield and whatever sort of legal issues may arise from that, is there still some sort of interest in terms of your interest, in terms of the medical community, in looking at any relationship between vaccinations and autism?
HENDREN: There's a real interest in looking at immune function in autism. We think that there may be some impairment in the immune function in autism.
The suggestion that the MMR vaccine people are saying is that these children may be particularly sensitive to this vaccine. You know, all of the evidence up to this point doesn't seem to support that theory. But it doesn't mean it's not worth pursuing at some level or another, whether it's looking at immune function and susceptibility to autism or looking at just different kind of bowel problems and that association.
So the research is worth doing. And I think that's what Dr. Wakefield was trying to say. Let's pursue this more and try and understand what might be at the root cause of this.
COOPER: It's a confusing subject.
Dr. Robert Hendren, you made it a lot clearer tonight. Thank you very much. Appreciate that.
HENDREN: Thank you for asking me. Bye.
COOPER: All right.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: And Dr. Hendren says that it's also a good idea to conduct research into immune function and autism.
Playing dirty on Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: I am mortified that this improper, unethical and simply unacceptable breach of confidential files occurred.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAWAY: Leaks, spying and stealing all in the halls of Congress.
And on the next hour of DAYBREAK, what today might bring for Martha Stewart. Kendall Coffey will join us live.
You're watching DAYBREAK for Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CALLAWAY: Fifteen minutes before the hour now. Here's a quick look at our top stories.
Right now British Prime Minister Tony Blair is appearing before his constituents explaining why he joined the U.S. in the war in Iraq. You're looking at a live picture.
Meanwhile, Iraq's Governing Council plans to sign an interim constitution today. That agreement includes democratic legal principles and is considered key to U.S. plans to transfer power to Iraqis in June.
In Haiti, about 500 Marines are expected to arrive in Haiti this weekend. They will join 500 Marines already there patrolling the capital after President Aristide was ousted.
And we update the top stories for you every 15 minutes. And our next update is coming up at 6:00 Eastern Time.
Well another intelligence scandal has hit Capitol Hill. Two former Republican staffers may have broken the law by downloading thousands of computer files from Senate Democrats.
Here's our Joe Johns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After a closed door meeting the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee condemned what investigators had uncovered.
SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: I am mortified that this improper, unethical and simply unacceptable breach of confidential files occurred.
JOHNS: Senator Pat Leahy said the unauthorized access of computer memos about President Bush's judicial nominees was even more serious than that.
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: I feel that it's not difficult to conclude that this was criminal behavior.
JOHNS: The controversy goes back to October, 2001. The report says a Republican clerk for the committee, Jason Lundell, learned how to look at personal files of committee staff and over 18 months "downloaded thousands of documents, the majority of which appeared to be from folders of Democratic staff."
Lundell didn't act alone. The report says he showed a committee lawyer, Manuel Miranda what he was doing and Miranda encouraged him to do it. Miranda told CNN he did nothing illegal or unethical and that he is "worried about absolutely nothing." He says he was free to look because there were no security measures on the Democratic files.
Last November, a handful of the documents were leaked to two newspapers and posted on a conservative Internet site. Conservative activists say the memos show how Democrats on the committee and outside groups coordinated their opposition to the president's court choices.
KAY DALY, COALITION FOR A FAIR JUDICIARY: The real crime of what's going on here the real abuse of the system is locked away in the content of these memos and that's the frightening part to me.
JOHNS: One memo on the website asserted that civil rights leaders identified court nominee Miguel Estrada as "especially dangerous because he has a minimal paper trail. He is Latino and the White House seems to be grooming him for a Supreme Court appointment."
The committee must still decide whether to ask the Justice Department to investigate. Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: Stay with us, everyone, we will check the weather just ahead. Also coming up next hour, Barry Bonds trying to keep his eye on the ball as the steroid scandal goes on. Chris Cotter will be along to talk about what this might mean for Bonds and to baseball.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CALLAWAY: Hey, Rob, we're going to take a look at some of the front pages that are going to be on everyone's driveway this morning.
MARCIANO: OK, what do you have?
CALLAWAY: Hey, take a look at this one from the "Sun-Sentinel," of course that's in South Florida. Very interesting articles on the situation in Haiti. One -- on the one side of the paper, on the left side of the paper is about one man's struggle to get back home to Haiti since violence broke out there. And on the other side of the photograph is another man's struggle to get home from Haiti. Very interesting articles there and how that's affecting South Florida.
And then let's move on now to the "Statesman Journal." Hundreds of same-sex couples make history in Multnomah. Lots of couples flying over there to get married, and some people not very happy about it. People saying they are going to fight the marriages in Oregon.
MARCIANO: Interesting area. Multnomah County, extremely liberal county, and then the surrounding rural counties of Oregon are conservative. So it's kind of a hotbed for political issues, always.
CALLAWAY: All right. We're going to take you now to the "Chicago Tribune," the "Red Eye." Do we have time to do that one? We don't have time. We'll try to do that one later. That was on television decency.
MARCIANO: OK.
CALLAWAY: I like that one.
We're going to get right to weather. We're running out of time.
MARCIANO: All right, we'll try to keep our TV decent here.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CALLAWAY: Coming up next on DAYBREAK, after a wrong turn down the road of life, a father returns to his roots.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CALLAWAY: Well this is a big weekend for a former fighter who has made a comeback. Long-lost Ernie Lopez has gone from homeless to hero. And reporter Barry Carpenter of CNN affiliate KDAF in Dallas-Fort Worth has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARRY CARPENTER, KDAF-TV REPORTER (voice-over): It's been a long road for 58-year-old former welterweight contender Ernie "Indian Red" Lopez. He arrived at DFW with a one-way ticket to Los Angeles and a newspaper with him on the front page.
ERNIE LOPEZ, BOXING HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE: I didn't think I'd ever be on the front page here of the "Star-Telegram," you know.
CARPENTER: But Lopez was no stranger to the sports page or boxing magazines. That's him in his Indian Red warm-up and here in a 1970 title fight lost to Jose Napoles. He and his wife divorced in 1972. Then in 1973, he lost another title fight to Napoles.
(on camera): Those losses were apparently so devastating that Lopez simply disappeared, wandering the country for years, ultimately winding up here at a Fort Worth homeless shelter.
(voice-over): Lopez would sometimes contact family members. But for the past 10 years, he vanished. But family members in Los Angeles found out that Lopez had been inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame. L.A. police tracked him to this shelter and this bed. Now he and his tattered duffel bag are off to L.A.
LOPEZ: You know got a hold of me and said they're going to put me in the Boxing Hall of Fame down in California. You know I got a pretty good record, so.
CARPENTER: Fifty-one, 10 and 1, to be exact, but his biggest win may be seeing his family again, former wife, four kids and 23 grandchildren who won't let him disappear again.
LOPEZ: That's what they told me, she says you better start keeping in touch with us.
CARPENTER: The Presbyterian Night Shelter has been his home for months. Friends there say the once-fierce fighter is incredibly humble.
DENNIS PENNINGTON, PRESBYTERIAN NIGHT SHELTER: We didn't even know he boxed. He doesn't go around talking about it. He's just humble. He is a genuinely nice guy.
CARPENTER: Lopez may have never been a world boxing champion, but he has earned the title of L.A.'s most wanted dad.
LOPEZ: That's going to be nice. That will be good. Not too many people get that -- get that opportunity, I don't believe, but I'm thankful that I got it.
CARPENTER: In Dallas, Barry Carpenter for CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: Stay with us, everyone, the next hour of CNN DAYBREAK begins right now.
Good morning, everyone, it is Friday, March 5. From the CNN headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Catherine Callaway. I'm in for Carol this morning.
Here's the headlines.
President Bush hosts Mexican President Vicente Fox at his Texas ranch today. He may use the event to announce a change in how some Mexicans enter the U.S.
And U.S. Marines expand their patrols in Haiti, but militant supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide remain defiant there and rebels are not giving up the guns like they said they would.
Deliberations resume this morning in the trial...
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What Causes Autism?; Another Capitol Hill Intelligence Scandal>
