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American Morning
Is There a New Campaign of Terror in Iraq?; Interview with Rudy Giuliani
Aired March 18, 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.
Is there a new campaign of terror in Iraq? Another car bombing just an hour ago. Again, the Iraqis pay the price.
From Kosovo, a fire the U.S. and its allies thought it put out years ago suddenly raging again today.
Also from Fresno, did murder suspect Marcus Wesson kill nine members of his family while the police were stationed just outside the home?
All those stories 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.
Lots to talk about out of Iraq this morning. Terrorists trying to shake Iraqis with a string of car bombs. We're going to speak with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani about just how to respond to these terrorists. Should the United States change its plans for a Iraqi hand over of power?
HEMMER: The last few days just constant reminders of the violent world in which we live in.
Also, on a different note here, medical news today. You know that aspirin is supposed to guard against heart attacks. Did you know that many people have a resistance to aspirin? Did you know there is a simple test to find out if you're one of them? That's Sanjay's topic today, a bit later this hour. Stay tuned for more.
O'BRIEN: All right, Mr. Cafferty, good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How are you doing?
Coming up in the Cafferty File, presumably in somewhat less than an hour, we think, although it's subject to change without notice, we will tell you which actor asked Jennifer Lopez to go put her clothes on. And panda pornography. You know, pandas, those big foot?
HEMMER: Yes? CAFFERTY: Panda pornography. Little things that we try to find things that probably aren't going to make it onto "Inside Politics with Judy Woodruff" later or, you know, Lou Dobbs won't have these stories.
HEMMER: That's right. I like it.
O'BRIEN: Only here on AMERICAN MORNING.
CAFFERTY: Yes. Lucky you.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
Let's get back to the news. Top of the hour now, Spanish media reporting that police there have four additional men in custody already today in connection with the attacks in Madrid. The arrests come as several other suspects already in custody are scheduled to appear before the national court today. More on this story still developing out of Spain today.
Secretary of State Colin Powell says the U.S. is elevating its military ties with Pakistan. Secretary Powell in Islamabad now, part of his Southeastern Asian tour. He had been in Afghanistan yesterday. Pakistan could soon get approval for its new status as a "major non- NATO ally," will apparently get priority in stockpiling weapons and in delivery of defense material. The new defense measures could help the Pakistani military pursue al Qaeda and the Taliban, believed to be hiding in that country, an operation, again, conducted there in the region of Waziristan.
California police want to know if officers were already waiting at the scene when nine victims were shot inside of a home in Fresno. Officers say the suspect, Marcus Wesson, spoke with them then ran off into a back bedroom, where police later found the nine bodies. Meanwhile, Wesson's arraignment will take place today. It was set to take place yesterday, delayed when Wesson showed up in court without an attorney.
High profile California attorney Gloria Allred asking a court to take away pop star Michael Jackson's children from him. Allred said she's filed an application with the L.A. juvenile court claiming that Jackson's three children are at a substantial risk. Jackson's attorney says Allred has no connection to the case and calls her actions "despicable and irresponsible." Jackson faces child molestation charges back in Santa Barbara County. He denies those charges.
NASA says the Earth is in for its closest brush yet with an asteroid. The asteroid, 2004FH, detected Monday night by astronomers. NASA says it's expected to pass about 26,500 miles away from Earth later tonight. I think we're OK. Scientists say don't worry, it poses no risk. So, whew, sleep easy today on that word from NASA.
O'BRIEN: Absolutely. Let's hope they did the math right on that, right?
HEMMER: True.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: There has been another deadly explosion in Iraq today. Today's car bombing in Basra comes less than 24 hours after a powerful blast killed 17 people in Baghdad.
Walter Rodgers is live for us in Baghdad this morning.
But, Walt, let's begin with this latest attack in Basra.
What can you tell us about it?
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Basra's car bomb attack has remarkable similarities to what happened here in Baghdad last night. The Basra bombing, the target was a Alzeiten (ph), a small residential hotel out of the way. Again, the modus operandi, the way of delivering the bomb was a vehicle.
The attack took place just a little over an hour ago. Basra is in the British sector of Iraq and we're told British troops rushed to the scene immediately. Again, similarities between what happened in Baghdad last night, where the target was the Mount Lebanon Hotel. Now it's the Alzeiten in Basra. The Iraqi police are saying, in the context of the Basra attack, that anywhere between three and five people were killed. Always the early indications of casualties and fatalities will fluctuate. You can be sure of that -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Walt, you know, you just mentioned, you said specifically remarkable similarities. Right now there is a suspect in the Baghdad bombing. Al-Zarqawi has been named as a suspect.
I know it's early yet in the Basra bombing, but is there anything so far that is connecting this man to the bombing in Basra?
RODGERS: Yes, there is. But remember, what the U.S. military is saying at this point is that they believe this bombing here in Baghdad and the one in Basra will have the same hallmarks, which is to say, it's an Islamist group. The car bomb, the way of detonating it, when the forensic experts go through what they're expecting to find is similarities between what happened here in Baghdad last night and what happened last August 19th, when the United Nations compound was attacked here, killing 22 people.
What they are saying is that Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi is one of the leading suspects in the war on terror here in Iraq. They believe he's spearheading the attacks here. But they're also saying another Islamist group, Ansar al-Islam, could be responsible. In truth, what they're saying is they're not really sure who did it, but they just have a hunch -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: We'll see if they are able to get more information on that.
Walt Rodgers for us this morning in Baghdad.
Thanks, Walt.
Well, terrorists in Iraq seem to be targeting civilians, as they did last week in Madrid and on September 11, 2001 here in New York City.
Rudy Giuliani was the mayor of New York back then.
He joins us this morning.
Nice to see you, as always.
RUDOLPH GIULIANI, FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: We're coming up on a year anniversary of the war in Iraq and another bombing, this morning in Basra, devastating the people there.
I guess my question to you would be how do you inspire confidence in the people who are reeling in the wake of all this terrorist activity? Again, they're targeting, apparently, civilians. How do you say be hopeful when what they say is we have nothing if we don't have security?
GIULIANI: Well, I mean there's no question, this is a horrific and very, very difficult situation, both in Iraq and Spain and the United States when you have terrorists who want to kill innocent human beings. But the thing to do is to confront them and to try to reduce their power, which, in fact, we've done in stages. And you're not going to win this in one battle. You're not going to win it in one or two years. This took 30 or 40 years to develop.
So Iraq has horrific problems right now, but Iraq has had horrific problems at least since Saddam Hussein, when he killed many more than this number, you know, in a year. We have mass graves there with hundreds of thousands of people, or possibilities that he killed hundreds of thousands of people.
So from where Iraq was to where Iraq is right now, although it's very, very hard to see with the terror that goes on, first of all, the situation has improved over the mass killings that existed. Second, there's a structure now leading toward protection. There are areas of Iraq that are safe. And there's a hope for Iraq, that it can become a stable, democratic state, you know, not by snapping your finger, but with the kind of sacrifice that we see going on there.
O'BRIEN: You've obviously been a very vocal supporter of President Bush. How concerned are you, though, if the violence is not abated? And certainly by -- the many people look to the June 30th hand over date. But even before then and after then, if that is not abating, what kind of a role is that going to play in his reelection campaign?
GIULIANI: Well, I think, in my talks with people around the country, what they're looking for is a steadiness of purpose and a leadership. I think what they want to see is a president who's committed to ending terrorism and not running away, backing off, changing his mind, changing policy because there's some criticism or business some things go wrong.
In a war -- and this is a war. They attacked us here in New York and in Washington and over the skies of Pennsylvania, a worse attack than Pearl Harbor. In a war, as the president said, this is going to take four or five years. And what we need is strong leadership, steady purpose and the real, the real goal here is an Iraq that's democratic and free. Then these sacrifices become worth it.
If because of public opinion or because of the media or because of politics somebody were to pull back from that, then I think we'd have a real, we'd have a real situation in which you'd say well, why was this all -- why did this all happened? It happened to create freedom, and that has to be our goal.
O'BRIEN: Can we make a very sharp turn from that to what you're doing right now. Your group, Giuliani Partners, is actually investigating the pharmaceutical -- you've been hired by the pharmaceutical industry to investigate prescription drugs coming into JFK specifically, and other ways, into this country.
So give me a sense of what you've been able to find. I know you were at JFK yesterday.
GIULIANI: My security company, Giuliani-Kerik, with the former police commissioner, Bernie Kerik, who was my colleague then and is now and was in Iraq, actually, training the police...
O'BRIEN: Right.
GIULIANI: ... we've been asked, it was originally by Pfizer and then by the other companies, to take a look at this situation where drugs are coming into the country and there's no control over them. Some of them are ordered over the Internet and people are asked to sign waivers. Imagine if you had to go into a pharmacy to buy your medicine and the pharmacist said sign a waiver because this could be dangerous to you. It will give you a sense of how, you know, difficult it is.
So we were there yesterday, had a chance to do an inspection. And what we found were a massive number of medicines coming into people that were not properly labeled, unauthorized. In some cases they looked to be totally counterfeit. In other cases, they were injectable medications, one that I'm familiar with because of having gone through prostate cancer, Lupron, that was being sent to an individual. Well, Lupron should be administered by your doctor...
O'BRIEN: Administrated by your doctor.
GIULIANI: ... not by an -- it can be -- Lupron can save your life. Lupron can also cause horrific side effects if it's handled incorrectly. So what we're trying to do is to figure out how do you regularize a system like this. I mean right now it's a system that creates a tremendous amount of danger.
O'BRIEN: Some people say that...
GIULIANI: That's why people have to sign that waiver.
O'BRIEN: But people say they're signing the waiver because just...
GIULIANI: They are.
O'BRIEN: ... prescription drugs are so expensive that they're willing to take that risk.
GIULIANI: Well, number one, they have to know the risk. I mean price is important and it's important to bring it as low as possible. Safety is even more important. And you can't lose the focus on safety because you're just thinking about price. So we're going to have to figure out a way and make recommendations as to how you can reconcile those two things.
But you can't sacrifice safety. You can't have people in a situation where in order to get medicines they've got to sign a waiver signing away their health, which is, in some cases, what's happening.
O'BRIEN: Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
GIULIANI: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Nice to see you.
Thanks for being with us, as always -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad, we want to go back to Baghdad quickly here and show our viewers a piece of videotape from yesterday. The Arabic language American TV challenge Al Hora (ph) conducting an interview in Baghdad with a guest. Watch as you see the blast in the distance, then a delay before the concussion is picked up on the microphone.
Now 17 dead a half mile away from that location where that interview took place. Al Hora is a new satellite channel based here in the U.S., in fact, out of the State of Virginia.
Another part of the world, quickly, NATO sending more peacekeepers to the Balkans after what is being called the worst violence in the region since the war ended there about five years ago. Ten are dead, scores of others wounded, in fighting between Serbs and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. Kosovo once part of Yugoslavia. Said to have started after the drowning of three Albanian children on Tuesday night. The scene from Pristina there.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Martha Stewart's lawyers are already preparing her appeal. What will be their case? We'll explain.
HEMMER: Also, the prosecution resting in its case against Jayson Williams. The defense will try to get the case thrown out. What's the chance of that happening? We'll hear from a former lawyer for Williams in a moment. O'BRIEN: And "The Passion of the Christ" continues to reach box office heights. Can it soar higher than any other? We'll investigate that ahead, as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
COMMERCIAL
O'BRIEN: Lawyers for Martha Stewart are working on her appeal after her conviction for lying about a stock sale. Reports say they will argue that the judge made a mistake and they claim jurors should have been allowed to hear the point stressed that Stewart was not on trial for insider trading.
Martha Stewart's daughter Alexis was in court every day. Last night she spoke with Larry King about that experience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "LARRY KING LIVE")
KING: What was the trial like for you?
STEWART: Exhausting, difficult.
KING: Why did you attend every day?
STEWART: I wouldn't have missed it. I wanted to see what was going to happen.
KING: Because some people might have said it's going to be too much to handle.
STEWART: No, but I have to be there for my mother. You couldn't have kept me away.
KING: Were you shocked at the verdict?
STEWART: Oh, yes, completely. I actually fainted. Nobody really knows that, but it was so horrifying and incomprehensible that I fainted. And even the people around me didn't know.
KING: You ever fainted in your life?
STEWART: No, never. Never.
KING: Were you out?
STEWART: Yes, for at least a -- I mean it might have been a millisecond, but I was dreaming. And then I woke up and I was, unfortunately, still there.
KING: The moment when they read this thing, the judge reads it and you're expecting the opposite, right?
STEWART: Yes, completely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Martha Stewart's sentencing is scheduled for June 17 -- Bill.
HEMMER: About 17 minutes past the hour.
Six weeks into the Jayson Williams manslaughter case, the prosecution finally resting yesterday. Now the defense gets its turn and will start next week.
Here's Eric Philips this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thirty-six-year- old Jayson Williams sat nearly expressionless as his lawyer hammered away at a weapons expert during cross-examination. At issue is how the 12 gauge shotgun went off, killing 55-year-old Gus Christofi at Williams' sprawling New Jersey estate.
Williams' lawyers claim the gun accidentally discharged when he snapped it shut. But Detective James Ryan testified that after performing eight types of tests on the gun, up to 10 times each, it never fired unexpectedly. It's the reason defense attorneys set out to poke holes in the detective's testing procedures during cross- examination yesterday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you do with the spent shells from your testing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From all the distance testing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, from the testing of the gun itself. Because remember when you said that you, if he had pulled the trigger somewhat and there was a discharge, what did you do with those shells?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I discarded them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we don't have those, either, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And if you hadn't discarded them, we'd know how many times you really did test where it worked and it didn't work, the test you were doing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
PHILIPS: It all dates back to Valentine's Day, 2002. After an evening at a Globetrotters' basketball game, Williams was giving some friends a tour of his mansion. The group was in his bedroom when Williams began handling the gun. It went off and limo driver Gus Christofi was shot. Afterwards, prosecutors say, it was made to look like a suicide.
The prosecution's case included 36 witnesses over 15 days of testimony. Some members of the Harlem Globetrotters testified as eyewitnesses.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The state rests.
PHILIPS: The defense is expected to begin presenting its side of the case Wednesday. All eyes will be on Williams, to see if the former NBA star will testify on his own behalf.
Eric Philips, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Criminal defense attorney Brian Neary defended Williams about 10 years ago on a gun charge.
Back with us here to talk about the case.
Nice to see you.
BRIAN NEARY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hi, Bill.
HEMMER: Thirty-six witnesses, 15 days of testimony.
How strong is the state's case?
NEARY: The state has presented everything they have. They presented everything in terms of witnesses who were at the house. They presented all types of science, both what they believe is the correct theory and even, in an effort to deflate any particular theory that the defense may have, they put it all out there.
HEMMER: Did they convince you?
NEARY: It still remains to be seen, in my mind.
HEMMER: Yes. Billy Martin's on Monday and Tuesday of next week. He's going to try to get this case thrown out, maybe not the entire thing, but maybe a part of the charge. And on what charge do you think he stands the best chance?
NEARY: Their emphasis is going to be on the aggravated manslaughter charge. That's the most serious of all the charges. It takes two parts -- recklessness, that Mr. Williams recklessly caused the death. The second thing is that it was done with extreme indifference to the value of human life. They're going to emphasize that the state hasn't produced the type of evidence that will allow a jury to make that conclusion. That's an important argument.
HEMMER: The way I understand state law in New Jersey, prosecutors have to show that Williams had a probability, not just a possibility, of causing harm or death, correct?
NEARY: Right. And they will have to examine the circumstances surrounding it. What the defense really wants to do here is eliminate from consideration whatever happened after the gun went off. They're arguing that that should not be used to find whether or not there was extreme indifference. If that's the case, then the judge may very well say all right, you haven't gotten that part. They may very likely just simply to go to jury on the issue of recklessness. HEMMER: So when Billy Martin defends Jayson Williams midweek next week, a lot of the theory we will hear from the defense is that there's some sort of junk -- I think the word he used was gook, gook inside the gun that may have charged it or caused it to malfunction? Does that theory hold?
NEARY: Billy Martin opened up on that as the predicate for the issue of the accident. Yesterday's cross-examination by Mr. Kelly challenged the police, or the sergeant, in a way to demonstrate that he really, that he's not really a white coat science. They were making up the experiment as they went along and that the defense will intend not only to show that the theory of the debris in the gun was a possibility, but they may very likely call their own witness.
HEMMER: How often do you have to test the gun, though? It was tested eight times, right? And sometimes the tests went 10 times within a single test itself, which could mean the gun was tested 80 times.
NEARY: It was tested in a whole number of different ways. But I think what Mr. Kelly was trying to do was show that it's not a precise science. You don't wear a white coat like a scientist and use a formula. They make up the experiment as they go along and that, in fact, there might be other possibilities. And the detective admitted the possibility that debris could have set the gun off.
HEMMER: All right, and Billy Martin said at the outset that they will hear from Jayson Williams. So he's expected to take the stand. We'll see if that holds true.
Good to see you, Brian.
NEARY: Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: Brian Neary.
All right -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, "The Passion of the Christ" is challenging a Hollywood boundary. We'll explain as AMERICAN MORNING continues right after this short break.
COMMERCIAL
O'BRIEN: "The Passion of the Christ" is on track to become the biggest moneymaking movie of all time. Mel Gibson's film about the final hours in the life of Jesus opened on February 25th. As of Sunday, it had grossed about $265 million. If it stays on its current pace, it's possible for "Passion" to pass "Star Wars," which made $461 million. It could even eventually overtake "Titanic." That movie took in $600 million.
HEMMER: It's not a true international release, either, right? They opened it here in the U.S. first, I believe. And they really have not sucked up the audiences in Europe and other parts of the world just yet. O'BRIEN: More important than any of that, it's all Mel Gibson's money.
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Like the only math you need to do is say he fronted all his own money for that.
HEMMER: Yes, that's right. He did, close to $40 million.
O'BRIEN: Nobody's taking percentages. No one's taking pieces.
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Hi, Jack.
HEMMER: And Jack is talking about Mel and our Question of the Day -- good morning.
CAFFERTY: Right. If you're looking for a little sophisticated political analysis of the upcoming presidential election, how about turning to Howard Stern or Mel Gibson? They're both offering up thoughts on the incumbent. Stern, of course, was yanked off six Clear Channel radio stations last month. He is recently spending a good part of his on air time attacking President Bush, urging his eight million listeners to vote him out of office.
Mel Gibson, who has been a Bush supporter, says he's been having doubts about the president and the weapons of mass destruction and the war in Iraq.
So the question this morning, could Howard Stern or Mel Gibson influence your vote for president?
The e-mails are hot and heavy, like this one. Bill in Columbus, Ohio: "The idea that Howard Stern could influence the outcome of the election makes me want to stock up on canned goods. I agree with his stance against the president. I've met people who are registering for the first time because of his negative impact. So, no, these guys can't influence my vote, but they have helped confirm it."
John in Louisiana: "I'm part of that group. I'm a 38-year-old male. I enjoy some of the entertainment that Howard and Mel provide. But I don't understand why their opinions and actions could sway my vote or that of anyone I k."
Jeff in Boca Raton: "Yes, Stern and Gibson will have impact. You'd be surprised at the number of people who get their news from "Entertainment Tonight" and not CNN." I didn't realize that anyone got their news someplace besides here at CNN. I find that shocking.
Dale in Philadelphia: "When Howard Stern and Mel Gibson both agree on Bush's irrelevance, it's time for Laura Bush to call Mayflower for rates on moving back to Crawford."
And, finally, Kurt in Virginia Beach writes: "Yes, but only if I was high and they had all the pizza."
The crew, right? Hear the laughter from the crew.
HEMMER: I sure did.
Let's get a break here.
In a moment, political fallout from the Baghdad explosion. Yesterday, as the vice president was talking and Senator Kerry was talking, both about the war on terror and security, we watched the rubble unfold in Baghdad. Back in a moment with that and Jeff Greenfield, after this.
COMMERCIAL
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Aired March 18, 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.
Is there a new campaign of terror in Iraq? Another car bombing just an hour ago. Again, the Iraqis pay the price.
From Kosovo, a fire the U.S. and its allies thought it put out years ago suddenly raging again today.
Also from Fresno, did murder suspect Marcus Wesson kill nine members of his family while the police were stationed just outside the home?
All those stories 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.
Lots to talk about out of Iraq this morning. Terrorists trying to shake Iraqis with a string of car bombs. We're going to speak with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani about just how to respond to these terrorists. Should the United States change its plans for a Iraqi hand over of power?
HEMMER: The last few days just constant reminders of the violent world in which we live in.
Also, on a different note here, medical news today. You know that aspirin is supposed to guard against heart attacks. Did you know that many people have a resistance to aspirin? Did you know there is a simple test to find out if you're one of them? That's Sanjay's topic today, a bit later this hour. Stay tuned for more.
O'BRIEN: All right, Mr. Cafferty, good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How are you doing?
Coming up in the Cafferty File, presumably in somewhat less than an hour, we think, although it's subject to change without notice, we will tell you which actor asked Jennifer Lopez to go put her clothes on. And panda pornography. You know, pandas, those big foot?
HEMMER: Yes? CAFFERTY: Panda pornography. Little things that we try to find things that probably aren't going to make it onto "Inside Politics with Judy Woodruff" later or, you know, Lou Dobbs won't have these stories.
HEMMER: That's right. I like it.
O'BRIEN: Only here on AMERICAN MORNING.
CAFFERTY: Yes. Lucky you.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
Let's get back to the news. Top of the hour now, Spanish media reporting that police there have four additional men in custody already today in connection with the attacks in Madrid. The arrests come as several other suspects already in custody are scheduled to appear before the national court today. More on this story still developing out of Spain today.
Secretary of State Colin Powell says the U.S. is elevating its military ties with Pakistan. Secretary Powell in Islamabad now, part of his Southeastern Asian tour. He had been in Afghanistan yesterday. Pakistan could soon get approval for its new status as a "major non- NATO ally," will apparently get priority in stockpiling weapons and in delivery of defense material. The new defense measures could help the Pakistani military pursue al Qaeda and the Taliban, believed to be hiding in that country, an operation, again, conducted there in the region of Waziristan.
California police want to know if officers were already waiting at the scene when nine victims were shot inside of a home in Fresno. Officers say the suspect, Marcus Wesson, spoke with them then ran off into a back bedroom, where police later found the nine bodies. Meanwhile, Wesson's arraignment will take place today. It was set to take place yesterday, delayed when Wesson showed up in court without an attorney.
High profile California attorney Gloria Allred asking a court to take away pop star Michael Jackson's children from him. Allred said she's filed an application with the L.A. juvenile court claiming that Jackson's three children are at a substantial risk. Jackson's attorney says Allred has no connection to the case and calls her actions "despicable and irresponsible." Jackson faces child molestation charges back in Santa Barbara County. He denies those charges.
NASA says the Earth is in for its closest brush yet with an asteroid. The asteroid, 2004FH, detected Monday night by astronomers. NASA says it's expected to pass about 26,500 miles away from Earth later tonight. I think we're OK. Scientists say don't worry, it poses no risk. So, whew, sleep easy today on that word from NASA.
O'BRIEN: Absolutely. Let's hope they did the math right on that, right?
HEMMER: True.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: There has been another deadly explosion in Iraq today. Today's car bombing in Basra comes less than 24 hours after a powerful blast killed 17 people in Baghdad.
Walter Rodgers is live for us in Baghdad this morning.
But, Walt, let's begin with this latest attack in Basra.
What can you tell us about it?
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Basra's car bomb attack has remarkable similarities to what happened here in Baghdad last night. The Basra bombing, the target was a Alzeiten (ph), a small residential hotel out of the way. Again, the modus operandi, the way of delivering the bomb was a vehicle.
The attack took place just a little over an hour ago. Basra is in the British sector of Iraq and we're told British troops rushed to the scene immediately. Again, similarities between what happened in Baghdad last night, where the target was the Mount Lebanon Hotel. Now it's the Alzeiten in Basra. The Iraqi police are saying, in the context of the Basra attack, that anywhere between three and five people were killed. Always the early indications of casualties and fatalities will fluctuate. You can be sure of that -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Walt, you know, you just mentioned, you said specifically remarkable similarities. Right now there is a suspect in the Baghdad bombing. Al-Zarqawi has been named as a suspect.
I know it's early yet in the Basra bombing, but is there anything so far that is connecting this man to the bombing in Basra?
RODGERS: Yes, there is. But remember, what the U.S. military is saying at this point is that they believe this bombing here in Baghdad and the one in Basra will have the same hallmarks, which is to say, it's an Islamist group. The car bomb, the way of detonating it, when the forensic experts go through what they're expecting to find is similarities between what happened here in Baghdad last night and what happened last August 19th, when the United Nations compound was attacked here, killing 22 people.
What they are saying is that Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi is one of the leading suspects in the war on terror here in Iraq. They believe he's spearheading the attacks here. But they're also saying another Islamist group, Ansar al-Islam, could be responsible. In truth, what they're saying is they're not really sure who did it, but they just have a hunch -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: We'll see if they are able to get more information on that.
Walt Rodgers for us this morning in Baghdad.
Thanks, Walt.
Well, terrorists in Iraq seem to be targeting civilians, as they did last week in Madrid and on September 11, 2001 here in New York City.
Rudy Giuliani was the mayor of New York back then.
He joins us this morning.
Nice to see you, as always.
RUDOLPH GIULIANI, FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: We're coming up on a year anniversary of the war in Iraq and another bombing, this morning in Basra, devastating the people there.
I guess my question to you would be how do you inspire confidence in the people who are reeling in the wake of all this terrorist activity? Again, they're targeting, apparently, civilians. How do you say be hopeful when what they say is we have nothing if we don't have security?
GIULIANI: Well, I mean there's no question, this is a horrific and very, very difficult situation, both in Iraq and Spain and the United States when you have terrorists who want to kill innocent human beings. But the thing to do is to confront them and to try to reduce their power, which, in fact, we've done in stages. And you're not going to win this in one battle. You're not going to win it in one or two years. This took 30 or 40 years to develop.
So Iraq has horrific problems right now, but Iraq has had horrific problems at least since Saddam Hussein, when he killed many more than this number, you know, in a year. We have mass graves there with hundreds of thousands of people, or possibilities that he killed hundreds of thousands of people.
So from where Iraq was to where Iraq is right now, although it's very, very hard to see with the terror that goes on, first of all, the situation has improved over the mass killings that existed. Second, there's a structure now leading toward protection. There are areas of Iraq that are safe. And there's a hope for Iraq, that it can become a stable, democratic state, you know, not by snapping your finger, but with the kind of sacrifice that we see going on there.
O'BRIEN: You've obviously been a very vocal supporter of President Bush. How concerned are you, though, if the violence is not abated? And certainly by -- the many people look to the June 30th hand over date. But even before then and after then, if that is not abating, what kind of a role is that going to play in his reelection campaign?
GIULIANI: Well, I think, in my talks with people around the country, what they're looking for is a steadiness of purpose and a leadership. I think what they want to see is a president who's committed to ending terrorism and not running away, backing off, changing his mind, changing policy because there's some criticism or business some things go wrong.
In a war -- and this is a war. They attacked us here in New York and in Washington and over the skies of Pennsylvania, a worse attack than Pearl Harbor. In a war, as the president said, this is going to take four or five years. And what we need is strong leadership, steady purpose and the real, the real goal here is an Iraq that's democratic and free. Then these sacrifices become worth it.
If because of public opinion or because of the media or because of politics somebody were to pull back from that, then I think we'd have a real, we'd have a real situation in which you'd say well, why was this all -- why did this all happened? It happened to create freedom, and that has to be our goal.
O'BRIEN: Can we make a very sharp turn from that to what you're doing right now. Your group, Giuliani Partners, is actually investigating the pharmaceutical -- you've been hired by the pharmaceutical industry to investigate prescription drugs coming into JFK specifically, and other ways, into this country.
So give me a sense of what you've been able to find. I know you were at JFK yesterday.
GIULIANI: My security company, Giuliani-Kerik, with the former police commissioner, Bernie Kerik, who was my colleague then and is now and was in Iraq, actually, training the police...
O'BRIEN: Right.
GIULIANI: ... we've been asked, it was originally by Pfizer and then by the other companies, to take a look at this situation where drugs are coming into the country and there's no control over them. Some of them are ordered over the Internet and people are asked to sign waivers. Imagine if you had to go into a pharmacy to buy your medicine and the pharmacist said sign a waiver because this could be dangerous to you. It will give you a sense of how, you know, difficult it is.
So we were there yesterday, had a chance to do an inspection. And what we found were a massive number of medicines coming into people that were not properly labeled, unauthorized. In some cases they looked to be totally counterfeit. In other cases, they were injectable medications, one that I'm familiar with because of having gone through prostate cancer, Lupron, that was being sent to an individual. Well, Lupron should be administered by your doctor...
O'BRIEN: Administrated by your doctor.
GIULIANI: ... not by an -- it can be -- Lupron can save your life. Lupron can also cause horrific side effects if it's handled incorrectly. So what we're trying to do is to figure out how do you regularize a system like this. I mean right now it's a system that creates a tremendous amount of danger.
O'BRIEN: Some people say that...
GIULIANI: That's why people have to sign that waiver.
O'BRIEN: But people say they're signing the waiver because just...
GIULIANI: They are.
O'BRIEN: ... prescription drugs are so expensive that they're willing to take that risk.
GIULIANI: Well, number one, they have to know the risk. I mean price is important and it's important to bring it as low as possible. Safety is even more important. And you can't lose the focus on safety because you're just thinking about price. So we're going to have to figure out a way and make recommendations as to how you can reconcile those two things.
But you can't sacrifice safety. You can't have people in a situation where in order to get medicines they've got to sign a waiver signing away their health, which is, in some cases, what's happening.
O'BRIEN: Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
GIULIANI: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Nice to see you.
Thanks for being with us, as always -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad, we want to go back to Baghdad quickly here and show our viewers a piece of videotape from yesterday. The Arabic language American TV challenge Al Hora (ph) conducting an interview in Baghdad with a guest. Watch as you see the blast in the distance, then a delay before the concussion is picked up on the microphone.
Now 17 dead a half mile away from that location where that interview took place. Al Hora is a new satellite channel based here in the U.S., in fact, out of the State of Virginia.
Another part of the world, quickly, NATO sending more peacekeepers to the Balkans after what is being called the worst violence in the region since the war ended there about five years ago. Ten are dead, scores of others wounded, in fighting between Serbs and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. Kosovo once part of Yugoslavia. Said to have started after the drowning of three Albanian children on Tuesday night. The scene from Pristina there.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Martha Stewart's lawyers are already preparing her appeal. What will be their case? We'll explain.
HEMMER: Also, the prosecution resting in its case against Jayson Williams. The defense will try to get the case thrown out. What's the chance of that happening? We'll hear from a former lawyer for Williams in a moment. O'BRIEN: And "The Passion of the Christ" continues to reach box office heights. Can it soar higher than any other? We'll investigate that ahead, as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
COMMERCIAL
O'BRIEN: Lawyers for Martha Stewart are working on her appeal after her conviction for lying about a stock sale. Reports say they will argue that the judge made a mistake and they claim jurors should have been allowed to hear the point stressed that Stewart was not on trial for insider trading.
Martha Stewart's daughter Alexis was in court every day. Last night she spoke with Larry King about that experience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "LARRY KING LIVE")
KING: What was the trial like for you?
STEWART: Exhausting, difficult.
KING: Why did you attend every day?
STEWART: I wouldn't have missed it. I wanted to see what was going to happen.
KING: Because some people might have said it's going to be too much to handle.
STEWART: No, but I have to be there for my mother. You couldn't have kept me away.
KING: Were you shocked at the verdict?
STEWART: Oh, yes, completely. I actually fainted. Nobody really knows that, but it was so horrifying and incomprehensible that I fainted. And even the people around me didn't know.
KING: You ever fainted in your life?
STEWART: No, never. Never.
KING: Were you out?
STEWART: Yes, for at least a -- I mean it might have been a millisecond, but I was dreaming. And then I woke up and I was, unfortunately, still there.
KING: The moment when they read this thing, the judge reads it and you're expecting the opposite, right?
STEWART: Yes, completely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Martha Stewart's sentencing is scheduled for June 17 -- Bill.
HEMMER: About 17 minutes past the hour.
Six weeks into the Jayson Williams manslaughter case, the prosecution finally resting yesterday. Now the defense gets its turn and will start next week.
Here's Eric Philips this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thirty-six-year- old Jayson Williams sat nearly expressionless as his lawyer hammered away at a weapons expert during cross-examination. At issue is how the 12 gauge shotgun went off, killing 55-year-old Gus Christofi at Williams' sprawling New Jersey estate.
Williams' lawyers claim the gun accidentally discharged when he snapped it shut. But Detective James Ryan testified that after performing eight types of tests on the gun, up to 10 times each, it never fired unexpectedly. It's the reason defense attorneys set out to poke holes in the detective's testing procedures during cross- examination yesterday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you do with the spent shells from your testing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From all the distance testing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, from the testing of the gun itself. Because remember when you said that you, if he had pulled the trigger somewhat and there was a discharge, what did you do with those shells?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I discarded them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we don't have those, either, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And if you hadn't discarded them, we'd know how many times you really did test where it worked and it didn't work, the test you were doing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
PHILIPS: It all dates back to Valentine's Day, 2002. After an evening at a Globetrotters' basketball game, Williams was giving some friends a tour of his mansion. The group was in his bedroom when Williams began handling the gun. It went off and limo driver Gus Christofi was shot. Afterwards, prosecutors say, it was made to look like a suicide.
The prosecution's case included 36 witnesses over 15 days of testimony. Some members of the Harlem Globetrotters testified as eyewitnesses.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The state rests.
PHILIPS: The defense is expected to begin presenting its side of the case Wednesday. All eyes will be on Williams, to see if the former NBA star will testify on his own behalf.
Eric Philips, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Criminal defense attorney Brian Neary defended Williams about 10 years ago on a gun charge.
Back with us here to talk about the case.
Nice to see you.
BRIAN NEARY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hi, Bill.
HEMMER: Thirty-six witnesses, 15 days of testimony.
How strong is the state's case?
NEARY: The state has presented everything they have. They presented everything in terms of witnesses who were at the house. They presented all types of science, both what they believe is the correct theory and even, in an effort to deflate any particular theory that the defense may have, they put it all out there.
HEMMER: Did they convince you?
NEARY: It still remains to be seen, in my mind.
HEMMER: Yes. Billy Martin's on Monday and Tuesday of next week. He's going to try to get this case thrown out, maybe not the entire thing, but maybe a part of the charge. And on what charge do you think he stands the best chance?
NEARY: Their emphasis is going to be on the aggravated manslaughter charge. That's the most serious of all the charges. It takes two parts -- recklessness, that Mr. Williams recklessly caused the death. The second thing is that it was done with extreme indifference to the value of human life. They're going to emphasize that the state hasn't produced the type of evidence that will allow a jury to make that conclusion. That's an important argument.
HEMMER: The way I understand state law in New Jersey, prosecutors have to show that Williams had a probability, not just a possibility, of causing harm or death, correct?
NEARY: Right. And they will have to examine the circumstances surrounding it. What the defense really wants to do here is eliminate from consideration whatever happened after the gun went off. They're arguing that that should not be used to find whether or not there was extreme indifference. If that's the case, then the judge may very well say all right, you haven't gotten that part. They may very likely just simply to go to jury on the issue of recklessness. HEMMER: So when Billy Martin defends Jayson Williams midweek next week, a lot of the theory we will hear from the defense is that there's some sort of junk -- I think the word he used was gook, gook inside the gun that may have charged it or caused it to malfunction? Does that theory hold?
NEARY: Billy Martin opened up on that as the predicate for the issue of the accident. Yesterday's cross-examination by Mr. Kelly challenged the police, or the sergeant, in a way to demonstrate that he really, that he's not really a white coat science. They were making up the experiment as they went along and that the defense will intend not only to show that the theory of the debris in the gun was a possibility, but they may very likely call their own witness.
HEMMER: How often do you have to test the gun, though? It was tested eight times, right? And sometimes the tests went 10 times within a single test itself, which could mean the gun was tested 80 times.
NEARY: It was tested in a whole number of different ways. But I think what Mr. Kelly was trying to do was show that it's not a precise science. You don't wear a white coat like a scientist and use a formula. They make up the experiment as they go along and that, in fact, there might be other possibilities. And the detective admitted the possibility that debris could have set the gun off.
HEMMER: All right, and Billy Martin said at the outset that they will hear from Jayson Williams. So he's expected to take the stand. We'll see if that holds true.
Good to see you, Brian.
NEARY: Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: Brian Neary.
All right -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, "The Passion of the Christ" is challenging a Hollywood boundary. We'll explain as AMERICAN MORNING continues right after this short break.
COMMERCIAL
O'BRIEN: "The Passion of the Christ" is on track to become the biggest moneymaking movie of all time. Mel Gibson's film about the final hours in the life of Jesus opened on February 25th. As of Sunday, it had grossed about $265 million. If it stays on its current pace, it's possible for "Passion" to pass "Star Wars," which made $461 million. It could even eventually overtake "Titanic." That movie took in $600 million.
HEMMER: It's not a true international release, either, right? They opened it here in the U.S. first, I believe. And they really have not sucked up the audiences in Europe and other parts of the world just yet. O'BRIEN: More important than any of that, it's all Mel Gibson's money.
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Like the only math you need to do is say he fronted all his own money for that.
HEMMER: Yes, that's right. He did, close to $40 million.
O'BRIEN: Nobody's taking percentages. No one's taking pieces.
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Hi, Jack.
HEMMER: And Jack is talking about Mel and our Question of the Day -- good morning.
CAFFERTY: Right. If you're looking for a little sophisticated political analysis of the upcoming presidential election, how about turning to Howard Stern or Mel Gibson? They're both offering up thoughts on the incumbent. Stern, of course, was yanked off six Clear Channel radio stations last month. He is recently spending a good part of his on air time attacking President Bush, urging his eight million listeners to vote him out of office.
Mel Gibson, who has been a Bush supporter, says he's been having doubts about the president and the weapons of mass destruction and the war in Iraq.
So the question this morning, could Howard Stern or Mel Gibson influence your vote for president?
The e-mails are hot and heavy, like this one. Bill in Columbus, Ohio: "The idea that Howard Stern could influence the outcome of the election makes me want to stock up on canned goods. I agree with his stance against the president. I've met people who are registering for the first time because of his negative impact. So, no, these guys can't influence my vote, but they have helped confirm it."
John in Louisiana: "I'm part of that group. I'm a 38-year-old male. I enjoy some of the entertainment that Howard and Mel provide. But I don't understand why their opinions and actions could sway my vote or that of anyone I k."
Jeff in Boca Raton: "Yes, Stern and Gibson will have impact. You'd be surprised at the number of people who get their news from "Entertainment Tonight" and not CNN." I didn't realize that anyone got their news someplace besides here at CNN. I find that shocking.
Dale in Philadelphia: "When Howard Stern and Mel Gibson both agree on Bush's irrelevance, it's time for Laura Bush to call Mayflower for rates on moving back to Crawford."
And, finally, Kurt in Virginia Beach writes: "Yes, but only if I was high and they had all the pizza."
The crew, right? Hear the laughter from the crew.
HEMMER: I sure did.
Let's get a break here.
In a moment, political fallout from the Baghdad explosion. Yesterday, as the vice president was talking and Senator Kerry was talking, both about the war on terror and security, we watched the rubble unfold in Baghdad. Back in a moment with that and Jeff Greenfield, after this.
COMMERCIAL
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