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CNN Live At Daybreak

Are Police Closing in on Person Responsible for Ohio highway Shootings?; More Evidence of Al Qaeda Link to Train Bombings in Madrid

Aired March 16, 2004 - 05:00   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.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you.
It's Tuesday, March 16.

From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Thank you for joining us this morning.

Pakistani paramilitary forces engage in a shootout with unknown gunmen along the rugged Afghan border. The troops have called in tribal elders to negotiate a surrender.

A fourth U.S. missionary died overnight after a drive by shooting in Mosul, Iraq. Only one member of the group of Southern Baptists survived, but is wounded.

An arrest warrant is out for a man suspected in a string of highway shootings near Columbus, Ohio. Police say Charles McCoy, Jr. may be armed and dangerous.

A jury awards $20 million to a popcorn factory worker in Missouri. You can see him there in the blue shirt and the red tie. Jurors found fault with the makers of butter flavoring because vapors from the mixing process ruined the man's lungs.

We update the top stories every 15 minutes. The next news update comes your way at 5:15 Eastern.

Are police closing on the person responsible for the Columbus, Ohio highway shootings?

CNN's Eric Philips has more on the manhunt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been 10 months and 24 shootings. Now Ohio authorities say they have one suspect, 28-year-old Charles McCoy, Jr. of Columbus. They believe McCoy is driving a dark green 1999 Geo Metro with a black hood and Ohio tags.

STEVE MARTIN, FRANKLIN COUNTY, SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Anyone that sees McCoy or his vehicle should contact a 911 operator immediately. We caution the public not to attempt to apprehend or confront McCoy. PHILIPS: Investigators consider McCoy to be armed and dangerous. They believe he not only has the weapon used in the highway shootings...

MARTIN: We believe he bought another gun.

PHILIPS: The shootings began along the I-270 Columbus beltway last May and appeared to be random. One incident was fatal. Sixty- two-year-old Gail Knisley was killed back in November as she was riding in a car on her way to a doctor's appointment. The shooter seemed to become more brazen in the most recent attacks, opening fire in broad daylight.

Without going into detail during an evening press conference, Franklin County Chief Deputy Steve Martin would only say McCoy was identified as the result of evidence collected in the case. Part of the evidence may have been several eyewitnesses, who have described the shooter to authorities. Now, officials say they need the public's health to bring McCoy in.

MARTIN: We still think he's local, but we're not absolutely sure on that.

PHILIPS (on camera): Ballistics evidence shows that bullets collected from nine of the 24 shooting scenes were fired from the same gun. As the search for McCoy continues, there's hope that this investigation will soon come to an end.

Eric Philips, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Let's head to Spain now. There is more evidence of an al Qaeda link to those deadly train bombings in Madrid.

Our Madrid bureau chief, Al Goodman, is following the investigation -- hello, Al.

Bring us up to date.

AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, let's first talk about Spanish troops in Iraq. They may be coming home. The Spanish prime minister elect, the socialist leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who scored this upset victory in the polls on Sunday. He's not scheduled to make an appearance Tuesday here in Madrid, but he said plenty on Monday. He reiterated his campaign pledge that Spain's 1,300 troops in Iraq would be brought home.

Now, we're getting word from Iraq that the American general, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, has said the loss of the Spanish troops would not be "a significant military problem." He being a general, he's not talking about the political problem that that may pose for the U.S.-led coalition. But the Spanish troops represent only about one percent of the 150,000 coalition troops that are on the ground.

The Spanish Defense Ministry, according to reports, seems to be taking the new prime minister elect seriously, because there's supposed to be a rotation of those troops in April and now they may just leave the 1,300 troops there a little bit more if they're actually going to come back in June instead of sending in another group and bringing them back -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I'm just curious about the scene behind you, too, Al.

Are those people looking at a memorial set up for the victims of the train bombings?

GOODMAN: Indeed, Carol. Let me step out of the way. We have been here. This is the Atocha train station, which took the brunt of the bombings. About half of the 200 some people who died in these bombings -- not to mention the 1,400 wounded -- were hit here in a couple of trains at this sprawling main train station on the southern edge of Madrid.

Now, this shrine with candles and flowers and signs of affection for the victims has just been growing steadily since the day of the bombings. And now you can see it stretches all the way around, and not just outside, Carol. There are also many of these sort of shrines inside the building.

The Spanish people still trying to come to grips with the worst terrorist act ever in Spain, something that many political analysts say is what caused this upset victory and a sudden shift, surprising the polls, why the socialists won. The prime minister's party, Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, the staunch supporter of the Bush administration, his party was supposed to win again -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And, of course, suspicions are pointing towards al Qaeda.

Any new information concerning that?

GOODMAN: Well, let's just remember that CNN has obtained a document off of an al Qaeda Web site which basically, in chilling terms, Carol, predicted what seems to have just happened. This said back in December that planners in al Qaeda, according to this Web site, thought if they could hit Spain with two or three hard blows, they might be able to get Spain out of the coalition and force a change in government, which has happened, and bring Spain's troops out of the coalition and start to build the pressure on President Bush.

Now, that was last December. Remember that by that time seven Spanish intelligence agents in November, a month earlier, had already been killed in an ambush south of Iraq. That caused a huge commotion here in the nation -- how could this have happened, everybody asked. And now you've had the bombings last Thursday and now the troops are due to come home -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Interesting.

Al Goodman live from Madrid this morning.

And the Madrid bombings have echoed across Europe, causing alarm among residents and prompting leaders to look into counter-terrorism measures.

Live now to Matthew Chance.

He's in London with news of one such meeting today.

Tell us about it.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a meeting going on in Paris in about an hour from now between the French and German leaders. It's a pre-scheduled meeting that takes place every six weeks. But this one, of course, is likely to focus, as will all the others, on the problem of terrorism on the European continent and what can be done to confront it.

We're also going to see from these two figures, we expect, who, of course, were strongly opposed to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, some kind of expression of solidarity with the new Spanish government, which has, of course, already come out and said that it believes that Spanish participation in that war was a mistake and has threatened to withdraw Spanish forces from the coalition, as we've been hearing.

Although, I have to say, the overriding issue from this meeting and the others will be the problem of terrorism and how to combat it -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I was just going to ask you specifically what action is being discussed to combat the new terror threat.

CHANCE: Well, it's being discussed right now in the immediate aftermath of the Madrid bombings. The president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, has already come out, though, and said that he believes the U.S. strategy of tackling terrorism solely by force is insufficient on its own. He's called for a European strategy to be forged.

Already across the streets of Europe, in European towns and cities, we've seen an increase in the security that's been put on by the authorities. Police, for instance, on the London transport system, undercover anti-terrorism police are patrolling that network for the first time. There have also been calls for a European commission to be set up to confront the problem of terrorism on the European continent. All these issues to be discussed next week at a summit of the European Union in Brussels -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Matthew Chance live from London this morning.

A former journalist and congressional aide has pleaded not guilty to being a spy for Iraq. After posting bond, Susan Lindauer says she's an anti-war activist and has spent years working for peace in the Mideast. Lindauer's father, who once ran for governor of Alaska as a Republican, says his daughter's indictment is politically motivated.

Oh, we already know the winner, but today's vote will help us get the final score. The Illinois Democratic primary is being held today. John Kerry has already won enough delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination. Today, he will pick up a good chunk of Illinois' 156 delegates.

And the Reverend Al Sharpton has conceded defeat to Senator John Kerry in the Democratic race for president. But after meeting Kerry, Sharpton says he will keep trying to win convention delegates in order to influence the party's direction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. AL SHARPTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are not ending the campaign, we're going to the next step in our campaign, and that is the direction of the party. We've resolved who the nominee is. We should make the nominee victorious. We must resolve now what the party will stand for, who the party will stand for, so we can get the turnout necessary to defeat George Bush.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Al Sharpton will talk more about his campaign goals on CNN's "American Morning." That, of course, begins at 7:00 a.m. Eastern.

The death penalty for smuggling immigrants. That tops other stories making news across America. Federal prosecutors say they'll seek the death penalty against 33-year-old Tyrone Williams. Police say he's the man who drove a truck involved in the nation's deadliest smuggling tragedy. That truck was found abandoned and packed with more than 70 undocumented immigrants last May near Victoria, Texas. Nineteen immigrants died in that truck from the sweltering heat.

In Baltimore, the last body is finally found. Search crews pulled the fifth victim of a water taxi accident from the Baltimore Inner Harbor. The body was recovered about 30 feet from where two other bodies were found on Sunday. The boat flipped over during a storm on March 6.

Is this man lucky or what? He was just laid off from his job at a tractor factory last week and now -- not her, but him -- he's a multi-millionaire. The 24-year-old Indiana man is the sole winner of the $89 million Power Ball jackpot in the Hoosier lottery. Taking the cash option, he'll get $49.9 million before taxes -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He can buy some new T-shirts.

COSTELLO: And some new caps.

MYERS: Exactly. Can you imagine how many T-shirts you can buy with $49 million?

COSTELLO: Lots of them.

MYERS: Whoa, man, you could have a warehouse.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: It's only three days till spring.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: It doesn't seem like it but...

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: I'm sure this is the last blast, do you think, Chad, Mr. Meteorologist?

MYERS: I think there's or two more yet.

COSTELLO: Oh, come on.

MYERS: Oh come on? It's only March.

COSTELLO: You're bringing us down.

MYERS: It's what?

COSTELLO: I said you're bringing us down.

MYERS: No problem. Sorry.

COSTELLO: But you're right, it is March.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: A flick of faith and you could be seeing more of them. How the box office smash "The Passion of the Christ" hopes to pump pious programming into your TV.

Also, chips and chips, why tidy computer chips are showing up in products in the grocery store.

Plus, quitting smoking? Why some people should use the patch and others should use spray.

And a cartoon claim sings. It's a lawsuit about a really popular clown fish that's anything but funny.

It is Tuesday, March 16.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: 5:15 Eastern time.

Time to take a quick look at the top stories. Now, a shootout along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Pakistani paramilitary troops clash with tribesmen suspected of sheltering al Qaeda and the Taliban. Both sides suffered casualties.

Ohio authorities in Columbus have issued an arrest warrant for this man. Take a look. They say 28-year-old Charles McCoy, Jr. is linked to a string of 24 highway shootings in the Columbus area since May. One person was killed.

Senator John Kerry already has enough delegates to lock up the Democratic nomination, but Illinois is holding its primary today -- 156 delegates on the line.

We update the top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 5:30 Eastern.

Time now to check the overseas markets. There are indications investors are still worried about those Madrid bombings.

Let's head live to London and Todd Benjamin -- ooh, it was a nasty day yesterday.

TODD BENJAMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a very tough day on terrorism fears, you're absolutely right, Carol. Not only here in Europe, where the European markets were down nearly two percent, but, of course, on Wall Street, where the NASDAQ fell more than two percent and the Dow and the S&P were also down quite a bit.

The futures market right now is pointing to a slight rebound on Wall Street. In focus will be the Federal Reserve meeting, although the Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged. And there are several economists, Carol, who expect the Fed will leave rates unchanged for the entire year -- no rate increases until 2005.

Here in Europe this morning, we opened higher, but we're now lower. The FTSE is down by a quarter of one percent. The DAX in Frankfurt is off a half percent, as is Paris.

And one final note for you. In the U.K., the Official of National Statistics, which once a year reviews what's going to be in its inflation index, has 650 items. Gin is out, vodka is in. Vodka has been rising in popularity. And apparently even manicures are now in that index. People are having manicures a lot more than they used to -- back to you.

COSTELLO: While drinking vodka? They're having manicures while drinking vodka. BENJAMIN: Probably. Hey, and frozen turkey is out, too. Frozen turkey is out, fresh turkey is in. So, I'll tell you, life is looking good here.

COSTELLO: It certainly is.

Thank you.

Todd Benjamin live from London this morning. Child birth murder -- did this woman, who allegedly refused to have a C-section, try to give up her baby for bail money? Find out why she's pleading innocent.

No buts about it, before you reach for that nicotine patch, we've got information on new research that might surprise you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Doctors say she refused a C-section that would have saved one of her twins. But a Utah woman says she was never told she needed that procedure. Now she's in jail, after pleading not guilty to murder.

CNN's Ted Rowlands sorts it all out for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA ANN ROWLAND, CHARGED WITH MURDER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that my bail is so high, your honor.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After giving birth and after her arrest, 28-year-old Melissa Rowland not only tried convincing a judge to reduce her bail but allegedly also tried scamming bail money from a local adoption agency. According to the agency's director, Rowland called from jail claiming she was pregnant and would be willing to give up her fictitious child if she could get out of jail.

ANN LAMPHERE, DIRECTOR, ADOPTION ANGEL: She's very good at manipulating, very good at telling you what you want to hear.

ROWLANDS: Rowland is facing homicide charges for refusing medical advice at three separate Salt Lake City hospitals. According to court documents, doctors say a c-section could have saved her child's life. Some mental health advocates are concerned that Rowland's actions, including an alleged statement to a nurse that she would rather lose a child than have a scar, indicates that she may be very unstable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This woman was not thinking rational. And it should have been picked up when she was exhibiting those behaviors.

ROWLANDS: Rowland's attorney says she has a history of mental illness.

KENT MORGAN, SPOKESMAN, SALT LAKE D.A.: And they've indicated that her difficulty is a failure to comply with authority. We have two prisons completely filled with people who are unable to comply with authority.

ROWLANDS: University of Utah law Professor Wayne McCormick says Rowland had a right to refuse the c-section.

WAYNE MCCORMICK, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH LAW SCHOOL: Her right to refuse surgery is her interest. And if she didn't like the color of the paint on the walls in the hospital she could leave.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: We have an update for you now on the Fresno family killings. That tops our legal briefs this morning. Police have removed 12 coffins from the California home where nine bodies were found. Autopsies show all of the victims were shot to death. The victims range in age between one and 24. The suspect, Marcus Wesson, is thought to be the father and the grandfather of the victims. He's being held on $9 million bail.

A jury has awarded $20 million to a former Missouri popcorn factory worker. Eric Peoples had claimed his lung disease is the result of inhaling fumes while mixing butter flavoring oils. Peoples, seen in the blue shirt and the red tie, says the two companies that make butter flavoring failed to warn plant workers that the vapors were dangerous.

Nemo wins. Pierrot the clown fish loses. The author of a French children's book lost his court battle to ban the sale of Nemo products in France. He claimed the creators of Nemo copied a smiling orange and white clown fish he created. A judge ruled even though the two fish are similar, it's not enough to confuse people.

So score one for the Americans. The French lose again.

MYERS: There's a lot of clown fish out there.

COSTELLO: You didn't get my...

MYERS: They all pretty much look the same.

COSTELLO: French, American, clown fish, they all look the same.

MYERS: Oh, yes, exactly. They're orange and they're white.

Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning, Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Did I say it was three days until spring a few minutes ago?

MYERS: Yes, you did. Did you?

COSTELLO: I did. It's four days till spring.

MYERS: Well, that just means there are still four more days of winter left.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

MYERS: OK.

COSTELLO: Definitely this morning there are four days of winter left.

Thank you, Chad.

Mel Gibson's movie began a controversy, but it is breaking box office records. Has Hollywood found religion?

And a possible break in the case of the sniper who's been terrorizing drivers in Ohio. Are police closing in on their man?

Kicking butt -- the latest medical research on quitting smoking. Find out how race places a part.

This is DAYBREAK for Tuesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




highway Shootings?; More Evidence of Al Qaeda Link to Train Bombings in Madrid>


Aired March 16, 2004 - 05:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you.
It's Tuesday, March 16.

From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Thank you for joining us this morning.

Pakistani paramilitary forces engage in a shootout with unknown gunmen along the rugged Afghan border. The troops have called in tribal elders to negotiate a surrender.

A fourth U.S. missionary died overnight after a drive by shooting in Mosul, Iraq. Only one member of the group of Southern Baptists survived, but is wounded.

An arrest warrant is out for a man suspected in a string of highway shootings near Columbus, Ohio. Police say Charles McCoy, Jr. may be armed and dangerous.

A jury awards $20 million to a popcorn factory worker in Missouri. You can see him there in the blue shirt and the red tie. Jurors found fault with the makers of butter flavoring because vapors from the mixing process ruined the man's lungs.

We update the top stories every 15 minutes. The next news update comes your way at 5:15 Eastern.

Are police closing on the person responsible for the Columbus, Ohio highway shootings?

CNN's Eric Philips has more on the manhunt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been 10 months and 24 shootings. Now Ohio authorities say they have one suspect, 28-year-old Charles McCoy, Jr. of Columbus. They believe McCoy is driving a dark green 1999 Geo Metro with a black hood and Ohio tags.

STEVE MARTIN, FRANKLIN COUNTY, SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Anyone that sees McCoy or his vehicle should contact a 911 operator immediately. We caution the public not to attempt to apprehend or confront McCoy. PHILIPS: Investigators consider McCoy to be armed and dangerous. They believe he not only has the weapon used in the highway shootings...

MARTIN: We believe he bought another gun.

PHILIPS: The shootings began along the I-270 Columbus beltway last May and appeared to be random. One incident was fatal. Sixty- two-year-old Gail Knisley was killed back in November as she was riding in a car on her way to a doctor's appointment. The shooter seemed to become more brazen in the most recent attacks, opening fire in broad daylight.

Without going into detail during an evening press conference, Franklin County Chief Deputy Steve Martin would only say McCoy was identified as the result of evidence collected in the case. Part of the evidence may have been several eyewitnesses, who have described the shooter to authorities. Now, officials say they need the public's health to bring McCoy in.

MARTIN: We still think he's local, but we're not absolutely sure on that.

PHILIPS (on camera): Ballistics evidence shows that bullets collected from nine of the 24 shooting scenes were fired from the same gun. As the search for McCoy continues, there's hope that this investigation will soon come to an end.

Eric Philips, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Let's head to Spain now. There is more evidence of an al Qaeda link to those deadly train bombings in Madrid.

Our Madrid bureau chief, Al Goodman, is following the investigation -- hello, Al.

Bring us up to date.

AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, let's first talk about Spanish troops in Iraq. They may be coming home. The Spanish prime minister elect, the socialist leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who scored this upset victory in the polls on Sunday. He's not scheduled to make an appearance Tuesday here in Madrid, but he said plenty on Monday. He reiterated his campaign pledge that Spain's 1,300 troops in Iraq would be brought home.

Now, we're getting word from Iraq that the American general, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, has said the loss of the Spanish troops would not be "a significant military problem." He being a general, he's not talking about the political problem that that may pose for the U.S.-led coalition. But the Spanish troops represent only about one percent of the 150,000 coalition troops that are on the ground.

The Spanish Defense Ministry, according to reports, seems to be taking the new prime minister elect seriously, because there's supposed to be a rotation of those troops in April and now they may just leave the 1,300 troops there a little bit more if they're actually going to come back in June instead of sending in another group and bringing them back -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I'm just curious about the scene behind you, too, Al.

Are those people looking at a memorial set up for the victims of the train bombings?

GOODMAN: Indeed, Carol. Let me step out of the way. We have been here. This is the Atocha train station, which took the brunt of the bombings. About half of the 200 some people who died in these bombings -- not to mention the 1,400 wounded -- were hit here in a couple of trains at this sprawling main train station on the southern edge of Madrid.

Now, this shrine with candles and flowers and signs of affection for the victims has just been growing steadily since the day of the bombings. And now you can see it stretches all the way around, and not just outside, Carol. There are also many of these sort of shrines inside the building.

The Spanish people still trying to come to grips with the worst terrorist act ever in Spain, something that many political analysts say is what caused this upset victory and a sudden shift, surprising the polls, why the socialists won. The prime minister's party, Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, the staunch supporter of the Bush administration, his party was supposed to win again -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And, of course, suspicions are pointing towards al Qaeda.

Any new information concerning that?

GOODMAN: Well, let's just remember that CNN has obtained a document off of an al Qaeda Web site which basically, in chilling terms, Carol, predicted what seems to have just happened. This said back in December that planners in al Qaeda, according to this Web site, thought if they could hit Spain with two or three hard blows, they might be able to get Spain out of the coalition and force a change in government, which has happened, and bring Spain's troops out of the coalition and start to build the pressure on President Bush.

Now, that was last December. Remember that by that time seven Spanish intelligence agents in November, a month earlier, had already been killed in an ambush south of Iraq. That caused a huge commotion here in the nation -- how could this have happened, everybody asked. And now you've had the bombings last Thursday and now the troops are due to come home -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Interesting.

Al Goodman live from Madrid this morning.

And the Madrid bombings have echoed across Europe, causing alarm among residents and prompting leaders to look into counter-terrorism measures.

Live now to Matthew Chance.

He's in London with news of one such meeting today.

Tell us about it.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a meeting going on in Paris in about an hour from now between the French and German leaders. It's a pre-scheduled meeting that takes place every six weeks. But this one, of course, is likely to focus, as will all the others, on the problem of terrorism on the European continent and what can be done to confront it.

We're also going to see from these two figures, we expect, who, of course, were strongly opposed to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, some kind of expression of solidarity with the new Spanish government, which has, of course, already come out and said that it believes that Spanish participation in that war was a mistake and has threatened to withdraw Spanish forces from the coalition, as we've been hearing.

Although, I have to say, the overriding issue from this meeting and the others will be the problem of terrorism and how to combat it -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I was just going to ask you specifically what action is being discussed to combat the new terror threat.

CHANCE: Well, it's being discussed right now in the immediate aftermath of the Madrid bombings. The president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, has already come out, though, and said that he believes the U.S. strategy of tackling terrorism solely by force is insufficient on its own. He's called for a European strategy to be forged.

Already across the streets of Europe, in European towns and cities, we've seen an increase in the security that's been put on by the authorities. Police, for instance, on the London transport system, undercover anti-terrorism police are patrolling that network for the first time. There have also been calls for a European commission to be set up to confront the problem of terrorism on the European continent. All these issues to be discussed next week at a summit of the European Union in Brussels -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Matthew Chance live from London this morning.

A former journalist and congressional aide has pleaded not guilty to being a spy for Iraq. After posting bond, Susan Lindauer says she's an anti-war activist and has spent years working for peace in the Mideast. Lindauer's father, who once ran for governor of Alaska as a Republican, says his daughter's indictment is politically motivated.

Oh, we already know the winner, but today's vote will help us get the final score. The Illinois Democratic primary is being held today. John Kerry has already won enough delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination. Today, he will pick up a good chunk of Illinois' 156 delegates.

And the Reverend Al Sharpton has conceded defeat to Senator John Kerry in the Democratic race for president. But after meeting Kerry, Sharpton says he will keep trying to win convention delegates in order to influence the party's direction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. AL SHARPTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are not ending the campaign, we're going to the next step in our campaign, and that is the direction of the party. We've resolved who the nominee is. We should make the nominee victorious. We must resolve now what the party will stand for, who the party will stand for, so we can get the turnout necessary to defeat George Bush.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Al Sharpton will talk more about his campaign goals on CNN's "American Morning." That, of course, begins at 7:00 a.m. Eastern.

The death penalty for smuggling immigrants. That tops other stories making news across America. Federal prosecutors say they'll seek the death penalty against 33-year-old Tyrone Williams. Police say he's the man who drove a truck involved in the nation's deadliest smuggling tragedy. That truck was found abandoned and packed with more than 70 undocumented immigrants last May near Victoria, Texas. Nineteen immigrants died in that truck from the sweltering heat.

In Baltimore, the last body is finally found. Search crews pulled the fifth victim of a water taxi accident from the Baltimore Inner Harbor. The body was recovered about 30 feet from where two other bodies were found on Sunday. The boat flipped over during a storm on March 6.

Is this man lucky or what? He was just laid off from his job at a tractor factory last week and now -- not her, but him -- he's a multi-millionaire. The 24-year-old Indiana man is the sole winner of the $89 million Power Ball jackpot in the Hoosier lottery. Taking the cash option, he'll get $49.9 million before taxes -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He can buy some new T-shirts.

COSTELLO: And some new caps.

MYERS: Exactly. Can you imagine how many T-shirts you can buy with $49 million?

COSTELLO: Lots of them.

MYERS: Whoa, man, you could have a warehouse.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: It's only three days till spring.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: It doesn't seem like it but...

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: I'm sure this is the last blast, do you think, Chad, Mr. Meteorologist?

MYERS: I think there's or two more yet.

COSTELLO: Oh, come on.

MYERS: Oh come on? It's only March.

COSTELLO: You're bringing us down.

MYERS: It's what?

COSTELLO: I said you're bringing us down.

MYERS: No problem. Sorry.

COSTELLO: But you're right, it is March.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: A flick of faith and you could be seeing more of them. How the box office smash "The Passion of the Christ" hopes to pump pious programming into your TV.

Also, chips and chips, why tidy computer chips are showing up in products in the grocery store.

Plus, quitting smoking? Why some people should use the patch and others should use spray.

And a cartoon claim sings. It's a lawsuit about a really popular clown fish that's anything but funny.

It is Tuesday, March 16.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: 5:15 Eastern time.

Time to take a quick look at the top stories. Now, a shootout along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Pakistani paramilitary troops clash with tribesmen suspected of sheltering al Qaeda and the Taliban. Both sides suffered casualties.

Ohio authorities in Columbus have issued an arrest warrant for this man. Take a look. They say 28-year-old Charles McCoy, Jr. is linked to a string of 24 highway shootings in the Columbus area since May. One person was killed.

Senator John Kerry already has enough delegates to lock up the Democratic nomination, but Illinois is holding its primary today -- 156 delegates on the line.

We update the top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 5:30 Eastern.

Time now to check the overseas markets. There are indications investors are still worried about those Madrid bombings.

Let's head live to London and Todd Benjamin -- ooh, it was a nasty day yesterday.

TODD BENJAMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a very tough day on terrorism fears, you're absolutely right, Carol. Not only here in Europe, where the European markets were down nearly two percent, but, of course, on Wall Street, where the NASDAQ fell more than two percent and the Dow and the S&P were also down quite a bit.

The futures market right now is pointing to a slight rebound on Wall Street. In focus will be the Federal Reserve meeting, although the Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged. And there are several economists, Carol, who expect the Fed will leave rates unchanged for the entire year -- no rate increases until 2005.

Here in Europe this morning, we opened higher, but we're now lower. The FTSE is down by a quarter of one percent. The DAX in Frankfurt is off a half percent, as is Paris.

And one final note for you. In the U.K., the Official of National Statistics, which once a year reviews what's going to be in its inflation index, has 650 items. Gin is out, vodka is in. Vodka has been rising in popularity. And apparently even manicures are now in that index. People are having manicures a lot more than they used to -- back to you.

COSTELLO: While drinking vodka? They're having manicures while drinking vodka. BENJAMIN: Probably. Hey, and frozen turkey is out, too. Frozen turkey is out, fresh turkey is in. So, I'll tell you, life is looking good here.

COSTELLO: It certainly is.

Thank you.

Todd Benjamin live from London this morning. Child birth murder -- did this woman, who allegedly refused to have a C-section, try to give up her baby for bail money? Find out why she's pleading innocent.

No buts about it, before you reach for that nicotine patch, we've got information on new research that might surprise you.

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COSTELLO: Doctors say she refused a C-section that would have saved one of her twins. But a Utah woman says she was never told she needed that procedure. Now she's in jail, after pleading not guilty to murder.

CNN's Ted Rowlands sorts it all out for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA ANN ROWLAND, CHARGED WITH MURDER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that my bail is so high, your honor.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After giving birth and after her arrest, 28-year-old Melissa Rowland not only tried convincing a judge to reduce her bail but allegedly also tried scamming bail money from a local adoption agency. According to the agency's director, Rowland called from jail claiming she was pregnant and would be willing to give up her fictitious child if she could get out of jail.

ANN LAMPHERE, DIRECTOR, ADOPTION ANGEL: She's very good at manipulating, very good at telling you what you want to hear.

ROWLANDS: Rowland is facing homicide charges for refusing medical advice at three separate Salt Lake City hospitals. According to court documents, doctors say a c-section could have saved her child's life. Some mental health advocates are concerned that Rowland's actions, including an alleged statement to a nurse that she would rather lose a child than have a scar, indicates that she may be very unstable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This woman was not thinking rational. And it should have been picked up when she was exhibiting those behaviors.

ROWLANDS: Rowland's attorney says she has a history of mental illness.

KENT MORGAN, SPOKESMAN, SALT LAKE D.A.: And they've indicated that her difficulty is a failure to comply with authority. We have two prisons completely filled with people who are unable to comply with authority.

ROWLANDS: University of Utah law Professor Wayne McCormick says Rowland had a right to refuse the c-section.

WAYNE MCCORMICK, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH LAW SCHOOL: Her right to refuse surgery is her interest. And if she didn't like the color of the paint on the walls in the hospital she could leave.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: We have an update for you now on the Fresno family killings. That tops our legal briefs this morning. Police have removed 12 coffins from the California home where nine bodies were found. Autopsies show all of the victims were shot to death. The victims range in age between one and 24. The suspect, Marcus Wesson, is thought to be the father and the grandfather of the victims. He's being held on $9 million bail.

A jury has awarded $20 million to a former Missouri popcorn factory worker. Eric Peoples had claimed his lung disease is the result of inhaling fumes while mixing butter flavoring oils. Peoples, seen in the blue shirt and the red tie, says the two companies that make butter flavoring failed to warn plant workers that the vapors were dangerous.

Nemo wins. Pierrot the clown fish loses. The author of a French children's book lost his court battle to ban the sale of Nemo products in France. He claimed the creators of Nemo copied a smiling orange and white clown fish he created. A judge ruled even though the two fish are similar, it's not enough to confuse people.

So score one for the Americans. The French lose again.

MYERS: There's a lot of clown fish out there.

COSTELLO: You didn't get my...

MYERS: They all pretty much look the same.

COSTELLO: French, American, clown fish, they all look the same.

MYERS: Oh, yes, exactly. They're orange and they're white.

Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning, Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Did I say it was three days until spring a few minutes ago?

MYERS: Yes, you did. Did you?

COSTELLO: I did. It's four days till spring.

MYERS: Well, that just means there are still four more days of winter left.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

MYERS: OK.

COSTELLO: Definitely this morning there are four days of winter left.

Thank you, Chad.

Mel Gibson's movie began a controversy, but it is breaking box office records. Has Hollywood found religion?

And a possible break in the case of the sniper who's been terrorizing drivers in Ohio. Are police closing in on their man?

Kicking butt -- the latest medical research on quitting smoking. Find out how race places a part.

This is DAYBREAK for Tuesday.

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