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American Morning
Spanish Authorities Moving Forward on Several Fronts; Interview with Senator Joseph Biden
Aired March 16, 2004 - 08:00 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
New information just in the past few hours in the Madrid bombings case. Have authorities now unlocked the secrets of a shadowy group of Moroccan extremists?
What led police to name this man as the prime suspect in a string of highway shootings that brought fear to Columbus, Ohio?
And gripping testimony in the trial of former NBA star Jayson Williams. A limo driver's final moments described in detail, ahead this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Welcome, everybody.
Other stories that we're following, Senator Joe Biden is going to join us to talk about how the landmark Spanish elections will affect U.S. relations overseas. We're also going to talk about U.S. rail security. Lots of questions about it right now, what the government can and should be doing to try to prevent future attacks.
HEMMER: Also, that story out of Fresno that we talked about yesterday just gruesome. The latest on the investigation there. A dozen empty coffins were taken from the home when an entire family died, shot to death, we're told. An update this morning. We'll let you know what's happening in Fresno.
O'BRIEN: Mr. Cafferty, hello.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, on that happy note, let me tell you about the Cafferty File...
HEMMER: That'll (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CAFFERTY: ... about, in less than an hour. Cryogenic lobsters, a company says sometimes its frozen lobsters come back to life. It's sort of like they were hoping for Ted Williams, I guess.
And spring break time is here. We'll tell you about some Texas college students who have found something different to do with their time off from school. HEMMER: Oh, yes? That's a tease.
O'BRIEN: Different good or different bad?
CAFFERTY: Well, it's different. That's...
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Actually, it's different good.
O'BRIEN: Really?
CAFFERTY: Yes. It's pretty cool, actually.
O'BRIEN: Oh, good. OK.
CAFFERTY: Yes. It's going to renew your faith in the younger generation.
O'BRIEN: No one's going to prison or, you know...
CAFFERTY: No. That's, those are the ones that do the traditional stuff. Some of them wind up in jail, yes.
O'BRIEN: Oh, yes. Oops. Sorry.
CAFFERTY: Yes, oops.
O'BRIEN: Thanks, Jack.
HEMMER: Our top stories now, starting off the second hour now.
More U.S. civilians targeted in Iraq. A fourth American civilian died overnight from wounds sustained in a drive by shooting in Mosul on Monday, yesterday. A fifth is being treated as a U.S. military hospital. The victims worked for the Southern Baptist International Mission Board. They were said to be working on a water purification project in Iraq, according to the wire reports we have now.
The Middle East now, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his top advisers talking about retaliation options after a deadly weekend attack. Ten people were killed in Sunday's suicide bombings at an Israeli port southwest of Tel Aviv.
Yesterday Sharon said he may cut off diplomatic ties with the Palestinians, saying he as "no negotiating partner on the Palestinian side."
Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erakat says Sharon's announcement ads nothing to the peace process.
This country now, the Reverend Al Sharpton ending his bid for president, but he says although he backs Senator Kerry, he will continue to debate the issues and not the nominee.
He was live here on AMERICAN MORNING last hour. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. AL SHARPTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... that Senator Kerry has won the nomination. He has gotten more than the 2,100 votes required. So rather than continue debating who the nominee will be, we know that, and he's a good nominee and should defeat Bush if the race is he and Bush.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Sharpton says he will continue to campaign for his urban agenda.
Less than a week before spring, about four days and counting, in fact, record snowfall covering parts of the middle part of the country. In Iowa, the winter storm dumped about 18 inches on parts of the state. More is expected later tonight. That storm moving toward the Northeast. Heavy snowfall expected in the states of Pennsylvania, then later in New York. Just when you thought it was safe to go back outside for the spring, guess again.
O'BRIEN: It was...
HEMMER: We're going to get a wallop here so...
O'BRIEN: ... such a beautiful day here yesterday, too.
HEMMER: Quite right. But we've been warned.
O'BRIEN: Well, I mean, OK, but warning isn't everything.
HEMMER: Fifty-eight and sunny yesterday.
O'BRIEN: I would just like nice weather, Chad.
HEMMER: True.
O'BRIEN: It was beautiful yesterday, today, what, six to 10 inches, you've been saying? That's not a bet.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: And we can't go back to yesterday, can we, Chad?
MYERS: Well, we can't. And if you complain, I could make it eight inches if you don't like five. So you've got to be careful.
O'BRIEN: Wow. You know, I am being a little whiny, so I will take that under advisement.
Chad, I'm thrilled about the snow.
Thank you so much.
Appreciate it.
MYERS: Great. There you go.
O'BRIEN: Turning now to Spain and some late breaking details about the investigation into Thursday's train bombings in Madrid, authorities are moving forward on numerous fronts, which now include the naming of suspects and the arrests of several individuals.
Brent Sadler is standing by in the Spanish capital with the very latest for us -- Brent, good morning.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Security sources here in Spain telling CNN that the Basque police have picked up another suspect, an Algerian who has not been identified. But he was picked up in northern Spain and it's understood he is being transferred from the north to the capital to be interrogated by the bombing investigation team here.
Now, in addition to that, "El Paz," one of Spain's leading newspapers, quoting security sources here, says that the police believe they have identified six people, all Moroccans, that they believe could well have been behind the bomb attacks on Spain's railway network just last Thursday.
Now, one of those six is already in police custody. He was arrested after the bomb attacks. And the announcement of his arrest, his detention announced just on the eve of the election here. Now, that Moroccan has an interesting background, according to security sources here. He has, it's said, some connections with some of those who were responsible for the bombings in Casablanca that killed 45 people last May, including 12 of the bombers.
So there is a labyrinth of connectivity here between not only Moroccans said to be involved, possibly in the attacks here, but also connections to what happened in Morocco, Casablanca, last May. And these inquiries are getting more and more complex by the day. Spanish and Moroccan security officials now working hand in hand on this ever enlarging investigation file -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Brent Sadler for us this morning.
Brent, thanks.
Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, Republican Senator Sam Brownback said terrorists must be looking at these bombings as a success because of the political change in Spain. Brownback added that he thinks now is not the time to give ground to terrorists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. SAM BROWNBACK (R), KANSAS: The answer is not to shift at this point in time, though, and say let's get, go in a different direction. It's really to put more energy behind the direction we're going now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: With more now, with reaction to the bombings, Democratic Senator Joe Biden of Delaware.
He joins us from Wilmington this morning.
Nice to see you, Senator.
SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D-DW), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Hi, Soledad.
How are you?
O'BRIEN: Thanks for being with us.
BIDEN: Happy to be here.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.
Do you agree with what Senator Brownback had to say, now is not the time to shift?
BIDEN: Well, I think now is not the time to give up on terror, but is time to shift. As one of the leading neo-conservatives, Mr. Kagan, said today in the "Washington Post" editorial, we've got to get off this unilateral kick against Europe and we have to make amends, in a sense, and mend fences with Europe so that the terrorists don't succeed in convincing Europeans to pull away from us.
We should -- one of the problems here is that it would be a disaster if, in fact, the rest of Europe concluded that disassociating with us would somehow give them security, which is the implication of what the Spanish -- the new Spanish prime minister is saying in Europe -- in Spain today.
O'BRIEN: And, in fact, what he has said, that what's happening in Iraq so far has been a disaster. He also said that he intends to shift his allegiance away from the U.S. toward France and Germany.
If he goes through with those plans -- some say threats -- what do you think the implication would be to the U.S.?
BIDEN: Well, they would be very bad if we did not repair our relationships with France and Germany. We should stop this talk of unilateralism. We should stop this bravado that has characterized some parts of the administration, talk about the need for NATO to work together, get NATO into Iraq, get a high commissioner succeeding Mr. Bremer in Iraq, turning the keys over to the Security Council and not to a super embassy, so that we demonstrate there's solidarity with Europe in this fight and Europe with us.
Now, Europe has been not all that good on a lot of these things. But the point is we have to repair that relationship. We cannot fight terror without Europe, alone, and we cannot succeed -- they cannot successfully fight terror without us. This is a time to repair those alliances and rebuild them. And what the new prime minister did say, he said if, in fact, in Iraq, the United Nations took on a prominent role, he would keep his forces there. So we have to get off this kick. And even some of the leading neo-conservatives, like Mr. Kagan, who I have great respect for, people should read his op-ed in the "Washington Post" today, where he's saying repair the relationship with Europe, stop this Old Europe/New Europe stuff.
O'BRIEN: So then do you read the reaction via the vote in Spain as an appeasement of the terrorists, as many people do?
BIDEN: I'm not sure, quite frankly. They don't have exit polls. There was a very small percentage change that cost Aznar the election. I suspect part of it had to do with the people of Spain thinking he was being duplicitous with them and not being honest about the bombing. There seems to be some evidence of that.
But whatever it is, we cannot, we cannot end up with a permanent fracture with Europe in the fight against terror. That is critically important. Now is the time to use our diplomacy, not just our force -- and I'm for using our force -- our diplomacy to repair the relationship with Europe so if Spain "leans to Germany and France," it's not that Germany and France are the other side of the pole from us.
We have to unite Europe. We have to lead Europe. We have to be part of Europe in our own naked self-interest.
O'BRIEN: A quick last question for you. There is an al Qaeda document that calls for terrorist attacks to oust the prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, which, of course, in turn, would upset the elections, things like that.
When we see the fallout that happened, then, is it fair to say that al Qaeda had an out and out major victory?
BIDEN: Well, it's fair to say al Qaeda will conclude it had an out and out major victory and it's fair to say that how the rest of Europe reacts to that will be critical for our security, as well as theirs. And that's why we should be dealing now with France, Germany, England, Portugal, Spain. We should be reaching out and coming up with a common consensus on how to move in Iraq from this moment on and how to deal with terror, instead of acting like Rumsfeld did before, talking about the Old Europe and the New Europe and how they disregard Europe and NATO's not important, etc.
We should stop that stuff. It is going to cost us. It's going to cost us dearly if we don't get on the right track. And we can get on the right track.
O'BRIEN: Senator Joe Biden is a Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, as well.
Thanks for being with us, sir.
Appreciate it.
BIDEN: Thank you, Soledad. Appreciate it.
O'BRIEN: Bill?
HEMMER: About 12 minutes past the hour.
From Ohio, police have named a suspect in the Columbus area highway shootings there. An arrest warrant issued last night for Charles McCoy, Jr. Police want the public's help in trying to find him. They caution, though, that McCoy could be armed and still dangerous.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF DEPUTY STEVE MARTIN, FRANKLIN COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: McCoy drives a dark green 1999 Geo Metro four door with a black hood bearing Ohio passenger tag C Charles, G George, V Victor 7387. 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: N.G. Berrill is a forensic psychologist, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, our guest this morning here in New York.
Nice to see you, professor.
N.G. BERRILL, FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST: Hi.
HEMMER: What is this man thinking right now? His description is out there, his picture is out there, his license tag. BERRILL: Sure.
HEMMER: This description of his car. BERRILL: Well, I'm sure he's afraid. But there are some reports that this fellow is mentally ill. So given that possible fact, it's very difficult to know precisely what he's thinking. It might be very confused and maybe very, very weird and unusual. So I don't know what he's really thinking.
HEMMER: We're trying to read between the lines of what's coming out of Ohio right now. BERRILL: Sure.
HEMMER: Help us as best you can, based on previous cases. His parents turned him in.
Does that tell you something? BERRILL: Well, it lets us know that they're concerned about public safety. Their concern about protecting, you know, their community overrides any concerns they might have about protecting their own son. So that is quite interesting.
HEMMER: Twenty-four shootings. Many of them have been linked. Only one death. Not to sound crass, but does only one death say something to you? Perhaps he's a poor shot or perhaps his intent was different from actually trying to kill people? BERRILL: Sure. Well, I mean either is possible. But my guess is that his intent was not to necessarily kill all that he shot at, obviously. I think stirring up a commotion, exercising some sense of power, revving the community up into a frenzy was probably more gratifying for him than actually killing people.
HEMMER: You think that's what he was after? BERRILL: I do think so, yes.
HEMMER: Attention? BERRILL: Well, more than attention. I think that sense of empowerment that one has when you get a whole community up in arms, afraid to, you know, go outside, afraid to travel on the roads. That's quite powerful.
HEMMER: Yes, some of the next descriptions here don't surprise me. I don't know if they do you. He's said to be quiet, keeping to himself, spending a lot of time in his car. BERRILL: Sure.
HEMMER: What does that tell you? BERRILL: That's almost at this point a cliche, isn't it? You know, every time, you know, the next morning we hear about these guys, people who have these kinds of thoughts and these ideas don't advertise them and they certainly don't run around their neighborhood saying you know what I'm going to do tomorrow or next week?
So, yes, you know, if he is a mentally ill fellow, he's probably very, very quiet and sticks close to home and is not about telling you what's in his head.
HEMMER: Does he act again? BERRILL: Does he act -- he might well. I mean given the pressure right now, I think this is what the scariest part of this is. If he's mentally ill and he feels he's pushed into a corner and he has weapons, you know, I can't even begin to guess what he's going to do next.
HEMMER: The manhunt is on back on Ohio.
N.G. Berrill, thanks, a professor here in New York. BERRILL: Sure.
HEMMER: Nice to see you. BERRILL: Sure.
HEMMER: All right -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, dramatic testimony in the Jayson Williams case. But the big question remains -- will the former NBA star take the stand in his own defense? We'll take a closer look at that just ahead.
HEMMER: Also, from California, house of horror in the town of Fresno. Authorities now have more details on that case and the story gets no better. A live report from California.
O'BRIEN: And some important news if you want to quit smoking. How the latest research can help you pick the plan that will work best for you. We'll explain, just ahead, as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
COMMERCIAL
O'BRIEN: They were talking about weapons of mass destruction. Last night, former U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix appeared on CNN.
Heidi Collins asked Blix when his reservations about banned weapons began.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANS BLIX, FORMER U.N. CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR: In January, 2003, because we were given many sites by U.S. and other countries' intelligence, where they believed there were weapons of mass destruction. And we went to many of these sites and in no case did we find any such weapons. We found, in a few cases, something else, but not weapons.
So I began to ask myself, now, if this is the best, what is the rest?
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, U.N. inspectors found no evidence whatsoever of weapons of mass destruction.
BLIX: No.
COLLINS: So how could the intelligence have been so wrong or misleading, if you will?
BLIX: I think they relied far too much upon defectors. We have their blessing in disguise, that the defectors do not come to international organizations. We cannot give them asylum. But they did go to Washington and to other places. I don't think they were, in most cases, very interested in having inspectors coming back. They were interested in the liberation of the country, and that's what they got.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: At New York University yesterday, Blix said, "The moral of the story has been clearly a loss of credibility for the leaders of this war." He was referring to President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair.
HEMMER: Testimony resumes this morning in the trial of former NBA star Jayson Williams. The former star charged with aggravated manslaughter and witness tampering in the death of limo driver Gus Christofi about two years ago. Prosecution witnesses at Williams' New Jersey mansion that night of a shooting delivered more potentially damaging testimony yesterday.
CNN's Ilena Chou (ph) was there, has more now in New Jersey.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ILENA CHOU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With Jayson Williams looking on silently, Harlem Globetrotters Curly "Boo" Johnson and Paul Gaffney told the jury what the celebrity defendant allegedly said in the moments after the shooting.
PAUL GAFFNEY, HARLEM GLOBETROTTER: Jayson was like, "Are you OK? Are you OK? Please tell me you're OK."
CURLY "BOO" JOHNSON, HARLEM GLOBETROTTER: "Oh, my god. Oh, (OBSCENE WORD OMITTED), you know?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did he say anything else that you recall?
JOHNSON: "Are you OK? (OBSCENE WORD OMITTED) my life."
CHOU: Gaffney and Johnson are Globetrotter teammates and eyewitnesses for the prosecution. Gaffney was in the room, Johnson just outside. Both told similar stories about what happened in the early morning hours of Valentine's Day, 2002, at Williams' sprawling New Jersey estate. That's when prosecutors say the former basketball star recklessly shot and killed limo drive Gus Christofi at point blank range.
GAFFNEY: I had Gus' hand and I was just praying for him.
And I didn't see him gasp anymore. And at that time I just said, "Hell no!" And I ran out of there.
CHOU: The defense maintains the shooting was an accident. But prosecutors say Williams wiped the gun, placed it gingerly in the victim's hands and then tried to convince other guests it was a suicide. The big question now is whether Williams will testify in his own defense.
Ilena Chou, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: That trial now in its sixth week. Jayson Williams' defense team could soon begin presenting its case back in court later today there in Jersey.
In a moment here, better days for a laid off factory worker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM RIVERS, POWER BALL WINNER: It still hasn't soaked in all the way yet. I'm, god, I'm glad I got it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Oh, he got it. The Power Ball victory for him and his wife. His plans, after the break here on AMERICAN MORNING.
COMMERCIAL
O'BRIEN: And we're back with Jack and the Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Yes, well, a lot of questions swirling around here this morning.
O'BRIEN: Well, well, well.
CAFFERTY: Senator John Kerry says there are "leaders" who want him to defeat President Bush. The administration wants to know who Kerry is talking about. Yesterday, Vice President Dick Cheney said that when Senator Kerry was challenged at a campaign event to give the names of these leaders he said, "That's none of your business."
Mr. Cheney said Americans deserve to know who the senator is talking about.
That's our question, should he identify these leaders that he claims want President Bush defeated?
Steve in Montgomery, Alabama: "John Kerry's claim about support for his candidacy was untoward at best and in a normal campaign I would expect him to identify these foreign supporters. Unfortunately, I wouldn't trust the current administration as far as I could throw Karl Rove's ego with such information. Their record of retaliation is long and embarrassing. Senator Kerry should keep the names to himself."
Anibal in Palm Bay, Florida: "Kerry should identify the leaders he claims want President Bush out. Being a public figure, he should also not be saying that it's not any of our business."
Maeve in Killington, Vermont: "I think Bush-Cheney should be careful what they wish for. I'd love to see their reaction if Kerry comes back with a list a mile long of foreign leaders who would like to see him win the election."
Allen in Nashville, Tennessee: "Senator Kerry's recent foible is telling on two levels, the second of which is more important, namely, what I maintain is his sincere belief that the international community has a say in American foreign policy. Given Spain's recent rollover, I think Kerry has just pushed me back to the Bush camp."
And Joe says: "Let's not have Kerry tell. I want to see Bush stamp and stomp his feet and cry."
HEMMER: Am@cnn.com.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: We like it.
CAFFERTY: Why don't they have the...
HEMMER: Listen, there was a big exchange over the weekend, by the way. There was this event and this Republican got into the room and confronted John Kerry.
CAFFERTY: That was...
HEMMER: This thing went on for like seven, eight minutes long that you just talked about.
CAFFERTY: That was, yes, where he said tell us who it is.
HEMMER: I was listening.
CAFFERTY: And he said that's none of your business.
HEMMER: Yes, that's none of your business.
CAFFERTY: You've got to pay closer attention. You missed some of the salient points of the Cafferty File. They're not in the script there (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
HEMMER: No, I've got it all, baby.
CAFFERTY: Why do they not have the induction ceremonies in Cleveland, where the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is?
HEMMER: I don't know. Maybe you could ask this guy.
CAFFERTY: Hmmm?
HEMMER: This guy here. What a difference a week makes. Did you hear about this, Jack?
CAFFERTY: No.
HEMMER: A man who was laid off from his factory job last week -- he's in Indiana -- now a multi-millionaire. Tim Rivers, $89 million on the Power Ball jackpot.
CAFFERTY: Good for him.
HEMMER: That's his wife next to him. It sounds like he still cannot quite believe it.
Here's his talk from yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RIVERS: I just want to get up today and I guess go look for a job or whatever, you know? I was wondering, you know, where the money is going to come from to pay my bills and everything and by chance, I guess the grace of god struck me yesterday and said OK, well, I'm going to give you that money or whatever. I don't know, it's just, it seems like everything fell in my lap and I'm going to take it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: I love that story. Rivers says his wife Pam and he tried to -- plan to buy a new house and a mansion and a castle and a small Caribbean island.
O'BRIEN: And a car for everyone in the family. HEMMER: A spokesperson for the lottery says the couple will take the cash option, 50 million bucks, about, before taxes.
CAFFERTY: They could send a little of it to their good friends here at AMERICAN MORNING if they were so inclined.
HEMMER: They could.
O'BRIEN: You know what, we do take donations.
CAFFERTY: Well, yes.
HEMMER: We take all comers, that's right.
O'BRIEN: Absolutely. No problem with that.
Still to come this morning, a murder suspect awaits arraignment in the killing of most of his family. We've got the latest from Fresno coming up, as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
COMMERCIAL
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Interview with Senator Joseph Biden>
Aired March 16, 2004 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
New information just in the past few hours in the Madrid bombings case. Have authorities now unlocked the secrets of a shadowy group of Moroccan extremists?
What led police to name this man as the prime suspect in a string of highway shootings that brought fear to Columbus, Ohio?
And gripping testimony in the trial of former NBA star Jayson Williams. A limo driver's final moments described in detail, ahead this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Welcome, everybody.
Other stories that we're following, Senator Joe Biden is going to join us to talk about how the landmark Spanish elections will affect U.S. relations overseas. We're also going to talk about U.S. rail security. Lots of questions about it right now, what the government can and should be doing to try to prevent future attacks.
HEMMER: Also, that story out of Fresno that we talked about yesterday just gruesome. The latest on the investigation there. A dozen empty coffins were taken from the home when an entire family died, shot to death, we're told. An update this morning. We'll let you know what's happening in Fresno.
O'BRIEN: Mr. Cafferty, hello.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, on that happy note, let me tell you about the Cafferty File...
HEMMER: That'll (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CAFFERTY: ... about, in less than an hour. Cryogenic lobsters, a company says sometimes its frozen lobsters come back to life. It's sort of like they were hoping for Ted Williams, I guess.
And spring break time is here. We'll tell you about some Texas college students who have found something different to do with their time off from school. HEMMER: Oh, yes? That's a tease.
O'BRIEN: Different good or different bad?
CAFFERTY: Well, it's different. That's...
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Actually, it's different good.
O'BRIEN: Really?
CAFFERTY: Yes. It's pretty cool, actually.
O'BRIEN: Oh, good. OK.
CAFFERTY: Yes. It's going to renew your faith in the younger generation.
O'BRIEN: No one's going to prison or, you know...
CAFFERTY: No. That's, those are the ones that do the traditional stuff. Some of them wind up in jail, yes.
O'BRIEN: Oh, yes. Oops. Sorry.
CAFFERTY: Yes, oops.
O'BRIEN: Thanks, Jack.
HEMMER: Our top stories now, starting off the second hour now.
More U.S. civilians targeted in Iraq. A fourth American civilian died overnight from wounds sustained in a drive by shooting in Mosul on Monday, yesterday. A fifth is being treated as a U.S. military hospital. The victims worked for the Southern Baptist International Mission Board. They were said to be working on a water purification project in Iraq, according to the wire reports we have now.
The Middle East now, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his top advisers talking about retaliation options after a deadly weekend attack. Ten people were killed in Sunday's suicide bombings at an Israeli port southwest of Tel Aviv.
Yesterday Sharon said he may cut off diplomatic ties with the Palestinians, saying he as "no negotiating partner on the Palestinian side."
Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erakat says Sharon's announcement ads nothing to the peace process.
This country now, the Reverend Al Sharpton ending his bid for president, but he says although he backs Senator Kerry, he will continue to debate the issues and not the nominee.
He was live here on AMERICAN MORNING last hour. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. AL SHARPTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... that Senator Kerry has won the nomination. He has gotten more than the 2,100 votes required. So rather than continue debating who the nominee will be, we know that, and he's a good nominee and should defeat Bush if the race is he and Bush.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Sharpton says he will continue to campaign for his urban agenda.
Less than a week before spring, about four days and counting, in fact, record snowfall covering parts of the middle part of the country. In Iowa, the winter storm dumped about 18 inches on parts of the state. More is expected later tonight. That storm moving toward the Northeast. Heavy snowfall expected in the states of Pennsylvania, then later in New York. Just when you thought it was safe to go back outside for the spring, guess again.
O'BRIEN: It was...
HEMMER: We're going to get a wallop here so...
O'BRIEN: ... such a beautiful day here yesterday, too.
HEMMER: Quite right. But we've been warned.
O'BRIEN: Well, I mean, OK, but warning isn't everything.
HEMMER: Fifty-eight and sunny yesterday.
O'BRIEN: I would just like nice weather, Chad.
HEMMER: True.
O'BRIEN: It was beautiful yesterday, today, what, six to 10 inches, you've been saying? That's not a bet.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: And we can't go back to yesterday, can we, Chad?
MYERS: Well, we can't. And if you complain, I could make it eight inches if you don't like five. So you've got to be careful.
O'BRIEN: Wow. You know, I am being a little whiny, so I will take that under advisement.
Chad, I'm thrilled about the snow.
Thank you so much.
Appreciate it.
MYERS: Great. There you go.
O'BRIEN: Turning now to Spain and some late breaking details about the investigation into Thursday's train bombings in Madrid, authorities are moving forward on numerous fronts, which now include the naming of suspects and the arrests of several individuals.
Brent Sadler is standing by in the Spanish capital with the very latest for us -- Brent, good morning.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Security sources here in Spain telling CNN that the Basque police have picked up another suspect, an Algerian who has not been identified. But he was picked up in northern Spain and it's understood he is being transferred from the north to the capital to be interrogated by the bombing investigation team here.
Now, in addition to that, "El Paz," one of Spain's leading newspapers, quoting security sources here, says that the police believe they have identified six people, all Moroccans, that they believe could well have been behind the bomb attacks on Spain's railway network just last Thursday.
Now, one of those six is already in police custody. He was arrested after the bomb attacks. And the announcement of his arrest, his detention announced just on the eve of the election here. Now, that Moroccan has an interesting background, according to security sources here. He has, it's said, some connections with some of those who were responsible for the bombings in Casablanca that killed 45 people last May, including 12 of the bombers.
So there is a labyrinth of connectivity here between not only Moroccans said to be involved, possibly in the attacks here, but also connections to what happened in Morocco, Casablanca, last May. And these inquiries are getting more and more complex by the day. Spanish and Moroccan security officials now working hand in hand on this ever enlarging investigation file -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Brent Sadler for us this morning.
Brent, thanks.
Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, Republican Senator Sam Brownback said terrorists must be looking at these bombings as a success because of the political change in Spain. Brownback added that he thinks now is not the time to give ground to terrorists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. SAM BROWNBACK (R), KANSAS: The answer is not to shift at this point in time, though, and say let's get, go in a different direction. It's really to put more energy behind the direction we're going now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: With more now, with reaction to the bombings, Democratic Senator Joe Biden of Delaware.
He joins us from Wilmington this morning.
Nice to see you, Senator.
SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D-DW), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Hi, Soledad.
How are you?
O'BRIEN: Thanks for being with us.
BIDEN: Happy to be here.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.
Do you agree with what Senator Brownback had to say, now is not the time to shift?
BIDEN: Well, I think now is not the time to give up on terror, but is time to shift. As one of the leading neo-conservatives, Mr. Kagan, said today in the "Washington Post" editorial, we've got to get off this unilateral kick against Europe and we have to make amends, in a sense, and mend fences with Europe so that the terrorists don't succeed in convincing Europeans to pull away from us.
We should -- one of the problems here is that it would be a disaster if, in fact, the rest of Europe concluded that disassociating with us would somehow give them security, which is the implication of what the Spanish -- the new Spanish prime minister is saying in Europe -- in Spain today.
O'BRIEN: And, in fact, what he has said, that what's happening in Iraq so far has been a disaster. He also said that he intends to shift his allegiance away from the U.S. toward France and Germany.
If he goes through with those plans -- some say threats -- what do you think the implication would be to the U.S.?
BIDEN: Well, they would be very bad if we did not repair our relationships with France and Germany. We should stop this talk of unilateralism. We should stop this bravado that has characterized some parts of the administration, talk about the need for NATO to work together, get NATO into Iraq, get a high commissioner succeeding Mr. Bremer in Iraq, turning the keys over to the Security Council and not to a super embassy, so that we demonstrate there's solidarity with Europe in this fight and Europe with us.
Now, Europe has been not all that good on a lot of these things. But the point is we have to repair that relationship. We cannot fight terror without Europe, alone, and we cannot succeed -- they cannot successfully fight terror without us. This is a time to repair those alliances and rebuild them. And what the new prime minister did say, he said if, in fact, in Iraq, the United Nations took on a prominent role, he would keep his forces there. So we have to get off this kick. And even some of the leading neo-conservatives, like Mr. Kagan, who I have great respect for, people should read his op-ed in the "Washington Post" today, where he's saying repair the relationship with Europe, stop this Old Europe/New Europe stuff.
O'BRIEN: So then do you read the reaction via the vote in Spain as an appeasement of the terrorists, as many people do?
BIDEN: I'm not sure, quite frankly. They don't have exit polls. There was a very small percentage change that cost Aznar the election. I suspect part of it had to do with the people of Spain thinking he was being duplicitous with them and not being honest about the bombing. There seems to be some evidence of that.
But whatever it is, we cannot, we cannot end up with a permanent fracture with Europe in the fight against terror. That is critically important. Now is the time to use our diplomacy, not just our force -- and I'm for using our force -- our diplomacy to repair the relationship with Europe so if Spain "leans to Germany and France," it's not that Germany and France are the other side of the pole from us.
We have to unite Europe. We have to lead Europe. We have to be part of Europe in our own naked self-interest.
O'BRIEN: A quick last question for you. There is an al Qaeda document that calls for terrorist attacks to oust the prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, which, of course, in turn, would upset the elections, things like that.
When we see the fallout that happened, then, is it fair to say that al Qaeda had an out and out major victory?
BIDEN: Well, it's fair to say al Qaeda will conclude it had an out and out major victory and it's fair to say that how the rest of Europe reacts to that will be critical for our security, as well as theirs. And that's why we should be dealing now with France, Germany, England, Portugal, Spain. We should be reaching out and coming up with a common consensus on how to move in Iraq from this moment on and how to deal with terror, instead of acting like Rumsfeld did before, talking about the Old Europe and the New Europe and how they disregard Europe and NATO's not important, etc.
We should stop that stuff. It is going to cost us. It's going to cost us dearly if we don't get on the right track. And we can get on the right track.
O'BRIEN: Senator Joe Biden is a Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, as well.
Thanks for being with us, sir.
Appreciate it.
BIDEN: Thank you, Soledad. Appreciate it.
O'BRIEN: Bill?
HEMMER: About 12 minutes past the hour.
From Ohio, police have named a suspect in the Columbus area highway shootings there. An arrest warrant issued last night for Charles McCoy, Jr. Police want the public's help in trying to find him. They caution, though, that McCoy could be armed and still dangerous.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF DEPUTY STEVE MARTIN, FRANKLIN COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: McCoy drives a dark green 1999 Geo Metro four door with a black hood bearing Ohio passenger tag C Charles, G George, V Victor 7387. 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: N.G. Berrill is a forensic psychologist, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, our guest this morning here in New York.
Nice to see you, professor.
N.G. BERRILL, FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST: Hi.
HEMMER: What is this man thinking right now? His description is out there, his picture is out there, his license tag. BERRILL: Sure.
HEMMER: This description of his car. BERRILL: Well, I'm sure he's afraid. But there are some reports that this fellow is mentally ill. So given that possible fact, it's very difficult to know precisely what he's thinking. It might be very confused and maybe very, very weird and unusual. So I don't know what he's really thinking.
HEMMER: We're trying to read between the lines of what's coming out of Ohio right now. BERRILL: Sure.
HEMMER: Help us as best you can, based on previous cases. His parents turned him in.
Does that tell you something? BERRILL: Well, it lets us know that they're concerned about public safety. Their concern about protecting, you know, their community overrides any concerns they might have about protecting their own son. So that is quite interesting.
HEMMER: Twenty-four shootings. Many of them have been linked. Only one death. Not to sound crass, but does only one death say something to you? Perhaps he's a poor shot or perhaps his intent was different from actually trying to kill people? BERRILL: Sure. Well, I mean either is possible. But my guess is that his intent was not to necessarily kill all that he shot at, obviously. I think stirring up a commotion, exercising some sense of power, revving the community up into a frenzy was probably more gratifying for him than actually killing people.
HEMMER: You think that's what he was after? BERRILL: I do think so, yes.
HEMMER: Attention? BERRILL: Well, more than attention. I think that sense of empowerment that one has when you get a whole community up in arms, afraid to, you know, go outside, afraid to travel on the roads. That's quite powerful.
HEMMER: Yes, some of the next descriptions here don't surprise me. I don't know if they do you. He's said to be quiet, keeping to himself, spending a lot of time in his car. BERRILL: Sure.
HEMMER: What does that tell you? BERRILL: That's almost at this point a cliche, isn't it? You know, every time, you know, the next morning we hear about these guys, people who have these kinds of thoughts and these ideas don't advertise them and they certainly don't run around their neighborhood saying you know what I'm going to do tomorrow or next week?
So, yes, you know, if he is a mentally ill fellow, he's probably very, very quiet and sticks close to home and is not about telling you what's in his head.
HEMMER: Does he act again? BERRILL: Does he act -- he might well. I mean given the pressure right now, I think this is what the scariest part of this is. If he's mentally ill and he feels he's pushed into a corner and he has weapons, you know, I can't even begin to guess what he's going to do next.
HEMMER: The manhunt is on back on Ohio.
N.G. Berrill, thanks, a professor here in New York. BERRILL: Sure.
HEMMER: Nice to see you. BERRILL: Sure.
HEMMER: All right -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, dramatic testimony in the Jayson Williams case. But the big question remains -- will the former NBA star take the stand in his own defense? We'll take a closer look at that just ahead.
HEMMER: Also, from California, house of horror in the town of Fresno. Authorities now have more details on that case and the story gets no better. A live report from California.
O'BRIEN: And some important news if you want to quit smoking. How the latest research can help you pick the plan that will work best for you. We'll explain, just ahead, as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
COMMERCIAL
O'BRIEN: They were talking about weapons of mass destruction. Last night, former U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix appeared on CNN.
Heidi Collins asked Blix when his reservations about banned weapons began.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANS BLIX, FORMER U.N. CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR: In January, 2003, because we were given many sites by U.S. and other countries' intelligence, where they believed there were weapons of mass destruction. And we went to many of these sites and in no case did we find any such weapons. We found, in a few cases, something else, but not weapons.
So I began to ask myself, now, if this is the best, what is the rest?
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, U.N. inspectors found no evidence whatsoever of weapons of mass destruction.
BLIX: No.
COLLINS: So how could the intelligence have been so wrong or misleading, if you will?
BLIX: I think they relied far too much upon defectors. We have their blessing in disguise, that the defectors do not come to international organizations. We cannot give them asylum. But they did go to Washington and to other places. I don't think they were, in most cases, very interested in having inspectors coming back. They were interested in the liberation of the country, and that's what they got.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: At New York University yesterday, Blix said, "The moral of the story has been clearly a loss of credibility for the leaders of this war." He was referring to President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair.
HEMMER: Testimony resumes this morning in the trial of former NBA star Jayson Williams. The former star charged with aggravated manslaughter and witness tampering in the death of limo driver Gus Christofi about two years ago. Prosecution witnesses at Williams' New Jersey mansion that night of a shooting delivered more potentially damaging testimony yesterday.
CNN's Ilena Chou (ph) was there, has more now in New Jersey.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ILENA CHOU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With Jayson Williams looking on silently, Harlem Globetrotters Curly "Boo" Johnson and Paul Gaffney told the jury what the celebrity defendant allegedly said in the moments after the shooting.
PAUL GAFFNEY, HARLEM GLOBETROTTER: Jayson was like, "Are you OK? Are you OK? Please tell me you're OK."
CURLY "BOO" JOHNSON, HARLEM GLOBETROTTER: "Oh, my god. Oh, (OBSCENE WORD OMITTED), you know?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did he say anything else that you recall?
JOHNSON: "Are you OK? (OBSCENE WORD OMITTED) my life."
CHOU: Gaffney and Johnson are Globetrotter teammates and eyewitnesses for the prosecution. Gaffney was in the room, Johnson just outside. Both told similar stories about what happened in the early morning hours of Valentine's Day, 2002, at Williams' sprawling New Jersey estate. That's when prosecutors say the former basketball star recklessly shot and killed limo drive Gus Christofi at point blank range.
GAFFNEY: I had Gus' hand and I was just praying for him.
And I didn't see him gasp anymore. And at that time I just said, "Hell no!" And I ran out of there.
CHOU: The defense maintains the shooting was an accident. But prosecutors say Williams wiped the gun, placed it gingerly in the victim's hands and then tried to convince other guests it was a suicide. The big question now is whether Williams will testify in his own defense.
Ilena Chou, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: That trial now in its sixth week. Jayson Williams' defense team could soon begin presenting its case back in court later today there in Jersey.
In a moment here, better days for a laid off factory worker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM RIVERS, POWER BALL WINNER: It still hasn't soaked in all the way yet. I'm, god, I'm glad I got it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Oh, he got it. The Power Ball victory for him and his wife. His plans, after the break here on AMERICAN MORNING.
COMMERCIAL
O'BRIEN: And we're back with Jack and the Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Yes, well, a lot of questions swirling around here this morning.
O'BRIEN: Well, well, well.
CAFFERTY: Senator John Kerry says there are "leaders" who want him to defeat President Bush. The administration wants to know who Kerry is talking about. Yesterday, Vice President Dick Cheney said that when Senator Kerry was challenged at a campaign event to give the names of these leaders he said, "That's none of your business."
Mr. Cheney said Americans deserve to know who the senator is talking about.
That's our question, should he identify these leaders that he claims want President Bush defeated?
Steve in Montgomery, Alabama: "John Kerry's claim about support for his candidacy was untoward at best and in a normal campaign I would expect him to identify these foreign supporters. Unfortunately, I wouldn't trust the current administration as far as I could throw Karl Rove's ego with such information. Their record of retaliation is long and embarrassing. Senator Kerry should keep the names to himself."
Anibal in Palm Bay, Florida: "Kerry should identify the leaders he claims want President Bush out. Being a public figure, he should also not be saying that it's not any of our business."
Maeve in Killington, Vermont: "I think Bush-Cheney should be careful what they wish for. I'd love to see their reaction if Kerry comes back with a list a mile long of foreign leaders who would like to see him win the election."
Allen in Nashville, Tennessee: "Senator Kerry's recent foible is telling on two levels, the second of which is more important, namely, what I maintain is his sincere belief that the international community has a say in American foreign policy. Given Spain's recent rollover, I think Kerry has just pushed me back to the Bush camp."
And Joe says: "Let's not have Kerry tell. I want to see Bush stamp and stomp his feet and cry."
HEMMER: Am@cnn.com.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: We like it.
CAFFERTY: Why don't they have the...
HEMMER: Listen, there was a big exchange over the weekend, by the way. There was this event and this Republican got into the room and confronted John Kerry.
CAFFERTY: That was...
HEMMER: This thing went on for like seven, eight minutes long that you just talked about.
CAFFERTY: That was, yes, where he said tell us who it is.
HEMMER: I was listening.
CAFFERTY: And he said that's none of your business.
HEMMER: Yes, that's none of your business.
CAFFERTY: You've got to pay closer attention. You missed some of the salient points of the Cafferty File. They're not in the script there (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
HEMMER: No, I've got it all, baby.
CAFFERTY: Why do they not have the induction ceremonies in Cleveland, where the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is?
HEMMER: I don't know. Maybe you could ask this guy.
CAFFERTY: Hmmm?
HEMMER: This guy here. What a difference a week makes. Did you hear about this, Jack?
CAFFERTY: No.
HEMMER: A man who was laid off from his factory job last week -- he's in Indiana -- now a multi-millionaire. Tim Rivers, $89 million on the Power Ball jackpot.
CAFFERTY: Good for him.
HEMMER: That's his wife next to him. It sounds like he still cannot quite believe it.
Here's his talk from yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RIVERS: I just want to get up today and I guess go look for a job or whatever, you know? I was wondering, you know, where the money is going to come from to pay my bills and everything and by chance, I guess the grace of god struck me yesterday and said OK, well, I'm going to give you that money or whatever. I don't know, it's just, it seems like everything fell in my lap and I'm going to take it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: I love that story. Rivers says his wife Pam and he tried to -- plan to buy a new house and a mansion and a castle and a small Caribbean island.
O'BRIEN: And a car for everyone in the family. HEMMER: A spokesperson for the lottery says the couple will take the cash option, 50 million bucks, about, before taxes.
CAFFERTY: They could send a little of it to their good friends here at AMERICAN MORNING if they were so inclined.
HEMMER: They could.
O'BRIEN: You know what, we do take donations.
CAFFERTY: Well, yes.
HEMMER: We take all comers, that's right.
O'BRIEN: Absolutely. No problem with that.
Still to come this morning, a murder suspect awaits arraignment in the killing of most of his family. We've got the latest from Fresno coming up, as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
COMMERCIAL
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Interview with Senator Joseph Biden>
