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CNN Live At Daybreak
Strike on Hamas; Public Safety vs. Individual Rights; War on Terror; Single Moms Merge
Aired March 22, 2004 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, what we can tell you at the moment is that Palestinians are burying the founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, who was assassinated by Israeli forces earlier this Monday morning. Three missiles fired from Israeli helicopters, killing himself and eight other -- either other Palestinians. Eight, that two of his bodyguards, it's thought some of his sons as well were injured.
Now there was an hour-and-a-half funeral procession that went through the streets of Gaza City. Thousands of Palestinians came out onto the street to mourn Sheik Ahmed Yassin. There were scuffles as Palestinians were trying to touch the body. There were women throwing flowers on his body. There is very high tension in Gaza City and across Gaza at the moment. Hamas has vowed revenge for this targeted killing, as the Israelis call it, or assassination of Hamas' founder and spiritual leader. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade has also said that now it has declared war on Israel.
The Israeli government spokesman though, Avi Pazner, who CNN spoke to a little earlier on, did say that the Middle East would be a better and a safer place without Yassin. Israeli government officials saying that Yassin was behind many of the suicide bombings against Israeli citizens, violence over the last three-and-a-half years since this intifada started which has killed almost 1,000 Israelis.
Internationally, this raid by the Israelis, though, has been condemned. The U.K. Foreign Minister Jack Straw condemning it, saying that Israelis do have the right to defend themselves, but this was unacceptable, this move. Also, we had the EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana saying that what has happened was -- quote -- "very, very bad."
Now the Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat has called for three days of mourning following the death of Sheik Ahmed Yassin and saying that Israelis had crossed -- quote -- "all red lines with this cheap and dirty fight" -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Paula Hancocks reporting live for us this morning.
Israelis killing of the Hamas founder is our focus in the 'Eye on the World.' Our senior international editor David Clinch is joining us to delve a little deeper into this.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes.
COSTELLO: And just so people understand who this Yassin was,... CLINCH: Yes.
COSTELLO: ... to the Israelis, Yassin was Osama bin Laden.
CLINCH: Right. I mean how can this man be a late 60s cleric, paraplegic, blind almost, sitting in a wheelchair and also be, as you say, from an Israeli point of view, the Osama bin Laden of the -- of the territories? Well from the Israeli point of view, they have been telling us for years that at the very least they believe that his sermons and speeches have inspired terror attacks. That they believe that as the leader of Hamas, which Israel and the United States designates as a terror organization, he's leading a group that's attacking Israel, that wants to destroy Israel.
They say that what they did today is a life saving act. They believe that after years of hundreds of Israelis being killed, including many civilians, in suicide attacks, which he has inspired, again, at the very least inspired, that their action is a necessary one.
Of course the sense today in the West Bank and in Gaza, where he is being buried as we speak, is that from the Palestinian point of view that he was a spiritual man, a religious man and that the connection from the Palestinian people to him has inspired a wave of violent reaction. We can call it violent reaction.
COSTELLO: Well we're looking at a passionate reaction right now in the streets of Gaza City.
CLINCH: Right.
COSTELLO: These are people you know as the coffin of Yassin went down the street, women were throwing flowers, people were trying to touch his body.
CLINCH: Right.
COSTELLO: Tires were set on fire. I don't quite understand that.
CLINCH: Again, we have seen the Israelis kill militant leaders, we have seen them kill people that we know are directly connected with militant and terror attacks in the past and we have seen funerals before. But again, from the Palestinian point of view, in Gaza, our people there telling us that the connection that the people feel, again, a spiritual leader, as well as a leader of Hamas, the feeling that the Palestinian people have for this man has put this to another level. The highest profile targeted killing that Israel has done to this stage.
COSTELLO: Well let me ask you this, Britain has come out and condemned this killing. What will the United States do?
CLINCH: Well that's a very interesting question. I mean even from the time I got in last night, reading the Israeli paper reports from yesterday, and on Sunday there were some indications that the Israelis and the United States, before this killing happened this morning, were at odds over something that Israeli Prime Minister Sharon wants to do. He wants to push ahead in the absence of the road map with his own plan for a withdrawal from Gaza. Some indications in the paper in Israel yesterday that the U.S. was refusing to agree to that Sharon plan.
Now what will be interesting today, the Israeli Foreign Minister Shalom is here in Washington today. Previously scheduled meetings with Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice in Washington. It will be very interesting. We have already had the United States State Department call for calm. And we have had them, in the past, call for a stop to these targeted killings.
COSTELLO: Well the United States can't exactly come out and condemn this, because isn't that what the United States wants to do with Osama bin Laden?
CLINCH: It's a very difficult situation for the U.S. Hamas designated as a terrorist organization. This is the leader of Hamas. They, as you say, the United States pursuing their own war on terror against Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden and others around the world. Very difficult situation for them. It will be very interesting to see exactly what happens in Washington today. But longer term, can the U.S. get Sharon and the Palestinians back together to negotiating table? That prospect, as the Europeans are saying today, looking more and more remote.
COSTELLO: David Clinch, many thanks.
Well has public safety superceded individual's rights? That is the issue at the heart of a case that will be argued in front of the Supreme Court today.
CNN's Elaine Quijano takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cowboy Larry Dudley Hibel was standing outside his pickup truck parked along a Nevada road, his 17-year-old daughter inside when a Sheriff's deputy investigating a call about a domestic disturbance started asking questions. As shown in captioning provided by Hibel supporters, 11 times the deputy told him to produce I.D. each time the rancher refused.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm being cooperative.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me see some I.D..
QUIJANO: The encounter ended with Hibel hancuffed, taken to jail and fined $250 for causing a delay to a peace officer. Prosecutors eventually dropped domestic violence charges against him.
DAVID ALLISON, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, HUMBOLDT COUNTY NEVADA: This is a small intrusion poon individual's rights balanced against the need of the state to know who is doing what. HARRIET CUMMINGS, HIBEL'S ATTORNEY: We believe that it runs contrary to core American values to make it a crime for someone not to identify themselves.
QUIJANO (on camera): Hibel's case is one of six search and seizure cases before the Supreme Court this term. Already, the high court has sided with police on two of those cases. Now, with civil liberties taking the spotlight in this post 9/11 world, experts say what happens with Hibel's case could have far reaching implications.
EDWARD LAZARUS, FRM. SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CLERK: We have idealistic notion in this country we can live in a kind of splendid anonymity. We can walk around and be left alone. And this question really raises in the post-9/11 era the issue of whether that's really true anymore.
LARRY DUDLEY HIBEL, NEVADA RANCHER: This case isn't just about me this is about all Americans. What happened on the road I think is alien to all Americans. I think we've enjoyed our freedoms and I don't think most Americans want them trampled on.
QUIJANO (voice-over): A delicate balance the high court must strike between an individual's rights and public safety. Elaine Quijano, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: To the Forecast Center to check in with Chad.
Good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Did that wake you up? It sure did me. A smashing success for the second time, the remake of the "Dawn of the Dead" was tops at the Box Office over the weekend taking in more than $27 million. Here's a look at the top five. "The Passion of the Christ" relinquished the top spot for the first time in three weeks.
A matching service for moms? We'll tell you more about the Web site that helps mothers share the headaches and the joys of single parenthood.
Also, tribal leaders try to broker an end to fighting in Pakistan as troops keep a lookout for al Qaeda's No. 2 man. Where is Ayman al- Zawahiri? We'll take you live to Islamabad.
This is DAYBREAK for Monday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is now 5:42 Eastern Time, time to take a quick look at the 'Top Stories.'
In the Middle East, vows of revenge for the Israeli missile attack in Gaza that killed Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
The murder trial of Terry Nichols gets under way today. Nichols is charged with 160 counts of first degree murder stemming from the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
And President Bush's former counterterrorism advisor Richard Clarke accuses the president of ignoring early warnings about al Qaeda. Clarke is scheduled to appear before the 9/11 Commission on Wednesday.
We update our 'Top Stories' every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:00 Eastern.
In Afghanistan, officials this morning are backing away from the early suggestion that al Qaeda's No. 2 man is cornered.
Our Nic Robertson joins us live from Islamabad with new developments in the battle on the border.
Bring us up to date -- Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, there is a sort of stalemate, a standoff, at the moment. Pakistani authority trying to negotiate with the al Qaeda members and the tribal villagers, supporting them at this time, trying to encourage the al Qaeda members to surrender.
We have seen, however, a number of bodies removed from the battlefield by Pakistani authorities, six bodies removed. We are told -- we are also told by Pakistani intelligent sources that U.S. officials will perform DNA analysis on those bodies, although there is absolutely no indication at this time that any one of those bodies could be the body of Ayman al-Zawahiri.
But at this time, Pakistani authority is concentrating on negotiating a surrender of the al Qaeda members. However, early this morning, there was an attack on a small Pakistani military outpost in that area of Waziristan -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So is it believed al-Zawahiri slipped away? Was never there? What's the story on that?
ROBERTSON: That's not -- yes, Carol, that is really not clear. Certainly there was the potential for him to get away. Military officials in that area saying it's impossible to fully secure the area. What they are saying now about this high value target they talked so much about is that well perhaps he was an Uzbek militia, Islamic militia commander affiliated with al Qaeda. Perhaps, they say, that he was just a local, as they call him, criminal. A member of a local tribe of those who have been giving the government trouble from that region. So it seems, at this time, the government really backing away from any suggestion that Ayman al-Zawahiri is still out there and still could be caught -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Nic Robertson reporting live for us this morning.
In Afghanistan, right across the border, U.S. troops engage in Operation Mountain Storm.
Ryan Chilcote joins us live by phone from Kabul with the latest from there.
What are you hearing this morning -- Ryan?
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well interestingly enough, all of the focus has been on Operation Mountain Storm, which is being carried out by U.S. forces alongside the Afghan National Army in both the east and south of the country, when yesterday evening factional violence, factional fighting broke out in western Afghanistan in the city of Herat.
That happened after the gentleman by the name of Mirwa Sadeik (ph), a minister in the Afghan government, the Aviation Minister and also the son of a very powerful leader, regional leader from that area by the name of Ishmael Hun (ph), was killed. He was killed in his car by a local commander. At least the local commander in that area has claimed responsibility, a man by the name of Zahair Anit Asada (ph). After Mirwa Sadeik was killed, there was fighting broke out involving soldiers, tanks. And before the evening was over yesterday, an estimated between 50 and 100 people were killed.
Now the president of Afghanistan, President Karzai, got involved. He told his Defense Minister to get to the bottom of the problem. The Defense Minister just dispatched soldiers from the Federal Army here. That's called the Afghan National Army. Those are the very same soldiers that have been fighting here in the war on terror against Taliban and al Qaeda to Herat. They are literally just about a mile away from me getting on planes right now to fly there. We understand that the fighting has died down, but there are large-scale demonstrations in that city in favor of Ishmael Hun.
Right now there are about just under 100 U.S. soldiers also in that city. They are not participating in any fighting. They are part of a provincial reconstruction team. U.S. military said it's very concerned about the situation there. It doesn't want to see the Afghanistans stepping back from some of the stability it's been able to gain over the last couple of years. So concerned in fact that just yesterday evening a B-1 bomber, U.S. B-1 bomber was ordered to do a low flight over the city, as the U.S. military put it, to try and calm things down. A show of force to try and calm things down in the city of Herat.
COSTELLO: Ryan Chilcote, many thanks, reporting live from Afghanistan.
In the next hour of DAYBREAK, the Scott Peterson trial might be on the move again. We'll get the latest legal maneuvers from Kendall Coffey. We'll have some 'Coffey Talk.'
A matching service for single mothers? Now the answer to the perfect roommate could be only a click away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Chad, it's time to take a look at 'The Front Pages'...
MYERS: 'Front Page.'
COSTELLO: ... across America right now.
MYERS: All right.
COSTELLO: Let's start with "The Charlotte Observer," shall we, Charlotte, North Carolina.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: You can see meth is becoming a big problem in small cities in North and South Carolina. Methamphetamine, you know, crank, glass, speed. Those are other names for the drug. The problem has become so big that in Robbinsville, which has the population of 780,...
MYERS: Wow!
COSTELLO: ... their preacher mentioned it at a recent Sunday sermon.
MYERS: Yes, it's everywhere.
COSTELLO: Isn't that sad?
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: It's sad. It seems to be hitting really small towns, though, rather than big cities.
This from "The Mississippi Press." You can see it's a big homecoming. Those are the homegrown heroes, the 890th Engineer Combat Battalion. They returned home after more than a year in Iraq to American flags, hugs, kisses and a few tears of joy thrown in for good measure.
MYERS: Welcome home.
COSTELLO: Very nice.
And you know I didn't know this -- Chad.
MYERS: And thank you, by the way.
COSTELLO: That's right, thank you very much.
"Richmond Times-Dispatch," they are still killing up after Hurricane Isabelle.
MYERS: Cleaning up.
COSTELLO: Cleaning up. What did I say?
MYERS: You said killing up, but that's all right, I knew what you meant.
COSTELLO: Well that was a terrible thing to say, wasn't it?
MYERS: Killer storms, scars left, permanent hurt. You know I was -- obviously my friend Jimmy Barrett, he is on WRVA, we talk to him all the time, they were charging somewhere between $5,000 and $7,000 to take stumps out of your yard after they cut the trees down. Just gouging, gouging, gouging and literally, stump gouging.
COSTELLO: Now that should be a crime.
MYERS: But now, obviously, things are -- yes, it's just that was -- literally take a stump out of your house should cost you a couple hundred bucks, right?
COSTELLO: Certainly not $7,000.
MYERS: Certainly not. So a lot of folks weren't -- obviously weren't getting them and there are still stumps all over the city. And now that things have calmed down, finally the prices are coming down and people are getting them -- getting them out of there, so.
COSTELLO: Well it's going to be a chilly day, too, across much of the nation, isn't it?
MYERS: Yes.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Are you a single mother? Are you looking for support and not finding it? Well we have found it for you. Actually, those fine women on the Internet have found it for you.
CNN's Adaora Udoji reports on a Web site that brings families together.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT, NEW YORK: Lilly Feldman (ph) and Cynthia Muldrow have discovered friendship can blossom from many seeds.
LILLY FELDMAN (ph), SINGLE MOM: I just know you. I know you're going to smell it, and you're going to want it.
UDOJI: Both single parents, their lives and that of their daughters, Sophia (ph) and Zora (ph), have been connected out of mutual need. Muldrow, a lawyer, needed financial help to keep up her three-story, New York City brownstone. Feldman, a therapist, was looking for more space.
They became housemates, sharing the headaches and joys of single parenthood.
CYNTHIA MULDROW, SINGLE MOM: Sometimes you just get tired. And having a friend nearby and having support has, you know, made it easier.
UDOJI: They probably would have never met, if not for CO- ABODE.com, a modern-day, online roommate matching service, designed for mothers like them.
In fact, it was created by single mom Carmel Sullivan, who stumbled across the idea after she put out an ad for a like-minded housemate in Los Angeles.
She was stunned when 18 mothers responded. She picked one, but that left 17 others.
CARMEL SULLIVAN, FOUNDER, CO-ABODE.COM: I had this list. And I thought, you know, I've already interviewed them. One of them had a seven-year-old and another had an eight-year-old, and I thought, they live in the same neighborhood. Why not just introduce them?
UDOJI: Since then, Sullivan has gone far beyond her neighborhood, opening up the idea to the country's 10 million single mothers.
Women like Yvette Cabrera and Michelle Herrera, who share a home, bills and babysitting in Brooklyn.
MICHELLE HERRERA, SINGLE MOM, BROOKLYN: Yvette -- she was a godsend. I mean, I just couldn't figure out how I was going to do it alone.
UDOJI: Now they're looking for a third housemate, and were thrilled to come across CO-ABODE.com.
YVETTE CABRERA, SINGLE MOM, BROOKLYN: I called up Michelle and said, you believe there's a Web site that can match somebody with us? Isn't it great.
So I put in a -- I signed up. And so, we're looking.
What are the colors on the Irish flag?
UDOJI: They, like Muldrow and Feldman, acknowledge it's not always easy. But the women say being housemates is well worth the effort, as they navigate the world as single parents.
Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And the next hour of CNN DAYBREAK starts right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Israel strikes at the heart of Hamas and kills the organization's founder bringing thousands of angry Palestinians into the streets. You are taking a look at a live picture right there from Gaza City. Good morning to you, it is Monday, March 22. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Let me bring you up to date.
Palestinians vowing revenge against Israel for the assassination of the spiritual leader of Hamas. And yes, they are also vowing revenge against the United States. We'll have a live report from out of Gaza in just a minute.
The U.S. is conducting DNA tests on suspected militants killed in fighting along the Pakistani-Afghan border. U.S. security officials want to identify suspected terrorists.
In Kosovo, security is high for the funerals of two ethnic Albanian boys. Their drowning deaths sparked clashes with Serbians that killed and injured hundreds. Serbs allegedly chased the boys into a river that separates their communities.
Terry Nichols goes on trial this morning. He is already serving a life sentence as a conspirator in the Oklahoma City bombing. If convicted on state charges, he could be put to death.
We update our 'Top Stories' every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way
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on Terror; Single Moms Merge>
Aired March 22, 2004 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, what we can tell you at the moment is that Palestinians are burying the founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, who was assassinated by Israeli forces earlier this Monday morning. Three missiles fired from Israeli helicopters, killing himself and eight other -- either other Palestinians. Eight, that two of his bodyguards, it's thought some of his sons as well were injured.
Now there was an hour-and-a-half funeral procession that went through the streets of Gaza City. Thousands of Palestinians came out onto the street to mourn Sheik Ahmed Yassin. There were scuffles as Palestinians were trying to touch the body. There were women throwing flowers on his body. There is very high tension in Gaza City and across Gaza at the moment. Hamas has vowed revenge for this targeted killing, as the Israelis call it, or assassination of Hamas' founder and spiritual leader. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade has also said that now it has declared war on Israel.
The Israeli government spokesman though, Avi Pazner, who CNN spoke to a little earlier on, did say that the Middle East would be a better and a safer place without Yassin. Israeli government officials saying that Yassin was behind many of the suicide bombings against Israeli citizens, violence over the last three-and-a-half years since this intifada started which has killed almost 1,000 Israelis.
Internationally, this raid by the Israelis, though, has been condemned. The U.K. Foreign Minister Jack Straw condemning it, saying that Israelis do have the right to defend themselves, but this was unacceptable, this move. Also, we had the EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana saying that what has happened was -- quote -- "very, very bad."
Now the Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat has called for three days of mourning following the death of Sheik Ahmed Yassin and saying that Israelis had crossed -- quote -- "all red lines with this cheap and dirty fight" -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Paula Hancocks reporting live for us this morning.
Israelis killing of the Hamas founder is our focus in the 'Eye on the World.' Our senior international editor David Clinch is joining us to delve a little deeper into this.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes.
COSTELLO: And just so people understand who this Yassin was,... CLINCH: Yes.
COSTELLO: ... to the Israelis, Yassin was Osama bin Laden.
CLINCH: Right. I mean how can this man be a late 60s cleric, paraplegic, blind almost, sitting in a wheelchair and also be, as you say, from an Israeli point of view, the Osama bin Laden of the -- of the territories? Well from the Israeli point of view, they have been telling us for years that at the very least they believe that his sermons and speeches have inspired terror attacks. That they believe that as the leader of Hamas, which Israel and the United States designates as a terror organization, he's leading a group that's attacking Israel, that wants to destroy Israel.
They say that what they did today is a life saving act. They believe that after years of hundreds of Israelis being killed, including many civilians, in suicide attacks, which he has inspired, again, at the very least inspired, that their action is a necessary one.
Of course the sense today in the West Bank and in Gaza, where he is being buried as we speak, is that from the Palestinian point of view that he was a spiritual man, a religious man and that the connection from the Palestinian people to him has inspired a wave of violent reaction. We can call it violent reaction.
COSTELLO: Well we're looking at a passionate reaction right now in the streets of Gaza City.
CLINCH: Right.
COSTELLO: These are people you know as the coffin of Yassin went down the street, women were throwing flowers, people were trying to touch his body.
CLINCH: Right.
COSTELLO: Tires were set on fire. I don't quite understand that.
CLINCH: Again, we have seen the Israelis kill militant leaders, we have seen them kill people that we know are directly connected with militant and terror attacks in the past and we have seen funerals before. But again, from the Palestinian point of view, in Gaza, our people there telling us that the connection that the people feel, again, a spiritual leader, as well as a leader of Hamas, the feeling that the Palestinian people have for this man has put this to another level. The highest profile targeted killing that Israel has done to this stage.
COSTELLO: Well let me ask you this, Britain has come out and condemned this killing. What will the United States do?
CLINCH: Well that's a very interesting question. I mean even from the time I got in last night, reading the Israeli paper reports from yesterday, and on Sunday there were some indications that the Israelis and the United States, before this killing happened this morning, were at odds over something that Israeli Prime Minister Sharon wants to do. He wants to push ahead in the absence of the road map with his own plan for a withdrawal from Gaza. Some indications in the paper in Israel yesterday that the U.S. was refusing to agree to that Sharon plan.
Now what will be interesting today, the Israeli Foreign Minister Shalom is here in Washington today. Previously scheduled meetings with Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice in Washington. It will be very interesting. We have already had the United States State Department call for calm. And we have had them, in the past, call for a stop to these targeted killings.
COSTELLO: Well the United States can't exactly come out and condemn this, because isn't that what the United States wants to do with Osama bin Laden?
CLINCH: It's a very difficult situation for the U.S. Hamas designated as a terrorist organization. This is the leader of Hamas. They, as you say, the United States pursuing their own war on terror against Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden and others around the world. Very difficult situation for them. It will be very interesting to see exactly what happens in Washington today. But longer term, can the U.S. get Sharon and the Palestinians back together to negotiating table? That prospect, as the Europeans are saying today, looking more and more remote.
COSTELLO: David Clinch, many thanks.
Well has public safety superceded individual's rights? That is the issue at the heart of a case that will be argued in front of the Supreme Court today.
CNN's Elaine Quijano takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cowboy Larry Dudley Hibel was standing outside his pickup truck parked along a Nevada road, his 17-year-old daughter inside when a Sheriff's deputy investigating a call about a domestic disturbance started asking questions. As shown in captioning provided by Hibel supporters, 11 times the deputy told him to produce I.D. each time the rancher refused.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm being cooperative.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me see some I.D..
QUIJANO: The encounter ended with Hibel hancuffed, taken to jail and fined $250 for causing a delay to a peace officer. Prosecutors eventually dropped domestic violence charges against him.
DAVID ALLISON, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, HUMBOLDT COUNTY NEVADA: This is a small intrusion poon individual's rights balanced against the need of the state to know who is doing what. HARRIET CUMMINGS, HIBEL'S ATTORNEY: We believe that it runs contrary to core American values to make it a crime for someone not to identify themselves.
QUIJANO (on camera): Hibel's case is one of six search and seizure cases before the Supreme Court this term. Already, the high court has sided with police on two of those cases. Now, with civil liberties taking the spotlight in this post 9/11 world, experts say what happens with Hibel's case could have far reaching implications.
EDWARD LAZARUS, FRM. SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CLERK: We have idealistic notion in this country we can live in a kind of splendid anonymity. We can walk around and be left alone. And this question really raises in the post-9/11 era the issue of whether that's really true anymore.
LARRY DUDLEY HIBEL, NEVADA RANCHER: This case isn't just about me this is about all Americans. What happened on the road I think is alien to all Americans. I think we've enjoyed our freedoms and I don't think most Americans want them trampled on.
QUIJANO (voice-over): A delicate balance the high court must strike between an individual's rights and public safety. Elaine Quijano, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: To the Forecast Center to check in with Chad.
Good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Did that wake you up? It sure did me. A smashing success for the second time, the remake of the "Dawn of the Dead" was tops at the Box Office over the weekend taking in more than $27 million. Here's a look at the top five. "The Passion of the Christ" relinquished the top spot for the first time in three weeks.
A matching service for moms? We'll tell you more about the Web site that helps mothers share the headaches and the joys of single parenthood.
Also, tribal leaders try to broker an end to fighting in Pakistan as troops keep a lookout for al Qaeda's No. 2 man. Where is Ayman al- Zawahiri? We'll take you live to Islamabad.
This is DAYBREAK for Monday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is now 5:42 Eastern Time, time to take a quick look at the 'Top Stories.'
In the Middle East, vows of revenge for the Israeli missile attack in Gaza that killed Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
The murder trial of Terry Nichols gets under way today. Nichols is charged with 160 counts of first degree murder stemming from the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
And President Bush's former counterterrorism advisor Richard Clarke accuses the president of ignoring early warnings about al Qaeda. Clarke is scheduled to appear before the 9/11 Commission on Wednesday.
We update our 'Top Stories' every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:00 Eastern.
In Afghanistan, officials this morning are backing away from the early suggestion that al Qaeda's No. 2 man is cornered.
Our Nic Robertson joins us live from Islamabad with new developments in the battle on the border.
Bring us up to date -- Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, there is a sort of stalemate, a standoff, at the moment. Pakistani authority trying to negotiate with the al Qaeda members and the tribal villagers, supporting them at this time, trying to encourage the al Qaeda members to surrender.
We have seen, however, a number of bodies removed from the battlefield by Pakistani authorities, six bodies removed. We are told -- we are also told by Pakistani intelligent sources that U.S. officials will perform DNA analysis on those bodies, although there is absolutely no indication at this time that any one of those bodies could be the body of Ayman al-Zawahiri.
But at this time, Pakistani authority is concentrating on negotiating a surrender of the al Qaeda members. However, early this morning, there was an attack on a small Pakistani military outpost in that area of Waziristan -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So is it believed al-Zawahiri slipped away? Was never there? What's the story on that?
ROBERTSON: That's not -- yes, Carol, that is really not clear. Certainly there was the potential for him to get away. Military officials in that area saying it's impossible to fully secure the area. What they are saying now about this high value target they talked so much about is that well perhaps he was an Uzbek militia, Islamic militia commander affiliated with al Qaeda. Perhaps, they say, that he was just a local, as they call him, criminal. A member of a local tribe of those who have been giving the government trouble from that region. So it seems, at this time, the government really backing away from any suggestion that Ayman al-Zawahiri is still out there and still could be caught -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Nic Robertson reporting live for us this morning.
In Afghanistan, right across the border, U.S. troops engage in Operation Mountain Storm.
Ryan Chilcote joins us live by phone from Kabul with the latest from there.
What are you hearing this morning -- Ryan?
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well interestingly enough, all of the focus has been on Operation Mountain Storm, which is being carried out by U.S. forces alongside the Afghan National Army in both the east and south of the country, when yesterday evening factional violence, factional fighting broke out in western Afghanistan in the city of Herat.
That happened after the gentleman by the name of Mirwa Sadeik (ph), a minister in the Afghan government, the Aviation Minister and also the son of a very powerful leader, regional leader from that area by the name of Ishmael Hun (ph), was killed. He was killed in his car by a local commander. At least the local commander in that area has claimed responsibility, a man by the name of Zahair Anit Asada (ph). After Mirwa Sadeik was killed, there was fighting broke out involving soldiers, tanks. And before the evening was over yesterday, an estimated between 50 and 100 people were killed.
Now the president of Afghanistan, President Karzai, got involved. He told his Defense Minister to get to the bottom of the problem. The Defense Minister just dispatched soldiers from the Federal Army here. That's called the Afghan National Army. Those are the very same soldiers that have been fighting here in the war on terror against Taliban and al Qaeda to Herat. They are literally just about a mile away from me getting on planes right now to fly there. We understand that the fighting has died down, but there are large-scale demonstrations in that city in favor of Ishmael Hun.
Right now there are about just under 100 U.S. soldiers also in that city. They are not participating in any fighting. They are part of a provincial reconstruction team. U.S. military said it's very concerned about the situation there. It doesn't want to see the Afghanistans stepping back from some of the stability it's been able to gain over the last couple of years. So concerned in fact that just yesterday evening a B-1 bomber, U.S. B-1 bomber was ordered to do a low flight over the city, as the U.S. military put it, to try and calm things down. A show of force to try and calm things down in the city of Herat.
COSTELLO: Ryan Chilcote, many thanks, reporting live from Afghanistan.
In the next hour of DAYBREAK, the Scott Peterson trial might be on the move again. We'll get the latest legal maneuvers from Kendall Coffey. We'll have some 'Coffey Talk.'
A matching service for single mothers? Now the answer to the perfect roommate could be only a click away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Chad, it's time to take a look at 'The Front Pages'...
MYERS: 'Front Page.'
COSTELLO: ... across America right now.
MYERS: All right.
COSTELLO: Let's start with "The Charlotte Observer," shall we, Charlotte, North Carolina.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: You can see meth is becoming a big problem in small cities in North and South Carolina. Methamphetamine, you know, crank, glass, speed. Those are other names for the drug. The problem has become so big that in Robbinsville, which has the population of 780,...
MYERS: Wow!
COSTELLO: ... their preacher mentioned it at a recent Sunday sermon.
MYERS: Yes, it's everywhere.
COSTELLO: Isn't that sad?
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: It's sad. It seems to be hitting really small towns, though, rather than big cities.
This from "The Mississippi Press." You can see it's a big homecoming. Those are the homegrown heroes, the 890th Engineer Combat Battalion. They returned home after more than a year in Iraq to American flags, hugs, kisses and a few tears of joy thrown in for good measure.
MYERS: Welcome home.
COSTELLO: Very nice.
And you know I didn't know this -- Chad.
MYERS: And thank you, by the way.
COSTELLO: That's right, thank you very much.
"Richmond Times-Dispatch," they are still killing up after Hurricane Isabelle.
MYERS: Cleaning up.
COSTELLO: Cleaning up. What did I say?
MYERS: You said killing up, but that's all right, I knew what you meant.
COSTELLO: Well that was a terrible thing to say, wasn't it?
MYERS: Killer storms, scars left, permanent hurt. You know I was -- obviously my friend Jimmy Barrett, he is on WRVA, we talk to him all the time, they were charging somewhere between $5,000 and $7,000 to take stumps out of your yard after they cut the trees down. Just gouging, gouging, gouging and literally, stump gouging.
COSTELLO: Now that should be a crime.
MYERS: But now, obviously, things are -- yes, it's just that was -- literally take a stump out of your house should cost you a couple hundred bucks, right?
COSTELLO: Certainly not $7,000.
MYERS: Certainly not. So a lot of folks weren't -- obviously weren't getting them and there are still stumps all over the city. And now that things have calmed down, finally the prices are coming down and people are getting them -- getting them out of there, so.
COSTELLO: Well it's going to be a chilly day, too, across much of the nation, isn't it?
MYERS: Yes.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Are you a single mother? Are you looking for support and not finding it? Well we have found it for you. Actually, those fine women on the Internet have found it for you.
CNN's Adaora Udoji reports on a Web site that brings families together.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT, NEW YORK: Lilly Feldman (ph) and Cynthia Muldrow have discovered friendship can blossom from many seeds.
LILLY FELDMAN (ph), SINGLE MOM: I just know you. I know you're going to smell it, and you're going to want it.
UDOJI: Both single parents, their lives and that of their daughters, Sophia (ph) and Zora (ph), have been connected out of mutual need. Muldrow, a lawyer, needed financial help to keep up her three-story, New York City brownstone. Feldman, a therapist, was looking for more space.
They became housemates, sharing the headaches and joys of single parenthood.
CYNTHIA MULDROW, SINGLE MOM: Sometimes you just get tired. And having a friend nearby and having support has, you know, made it easier.
UDOJI: They probably would have never met, if not for CO- ABODE.com, a modern-day, online roommate matching service, designed for mothers like them.
In fact, it was created by single mom Carmel Sullivan, who stumbled across the idea after she put out an ad for a like-minded housemate in Los Angeles.
She was stunned when 18 mothers responded. She picked one, but that left 17 others.
CARMEL SULLIVAN, FOUNDER, CO-ABODE.COM: I had this list. And I thought, you know, I've already interviewed them. One of them had a seven-year-old and another had an eight-year-old, and I thought, they live in the same neighborhood. Why not just introduce them?
UDOJI: Since then, Sullivan has gone far beyond her neighborhood, opening up the idea to the country's 10 million single mothers.
Women like Yvette Cabrera and Michelle Herrera, who share a home, bills and babysitting in Brooklyn.
MICHELLE HERRERA, SINGLE MOM, BROOKLYN: Yvette -- she was a godsend. I mean, I just couldn't figure out how I was going to do it alone.
UDOJI: Now they're looking for a third housemate, and were thrilled to come across CO-ABODE.com.
YVETTE CABRERA, SINGLE MOM, BROOKLYN: I called up Michelle and said, you believe there's a Web site that can match somebody with us? Isn't it great.
So I put in a -- I signed up. And so, we're looking.
What are the colors on the Irish flag?
UDOJI: They, like Muldrow and Feldman, acknowledge it's not always easy. But the women say being housemates is well worth the effort, as they navigate the world as single parents.
Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And the next hour of CNN DAYBREAK starts right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Israel strikes at the heart of Hamas and kills the organization's founder bringing thousands of angry Palestinians into the streets. You are taking a look at a live picture right there from Gaza City. Good morning to you, it is Monday, March 22. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Let me bring you up to date.
Palestinians vowing revenge against Israel for the assassination of the spiritual leader of Hamas. And yes, they are also vowing revenge against the United States. We'll have a live report from out of Gaza in just a minute.
The U.S. is conducting DNA tests on suspected militants killed in fighting along the Pakistani-Afghan border. U.S. security officials want to identify suspected terrorists.
In Kosovo, security is high for the funerals of two ethnic Albanian boys. Their drowning deaths sparked clashes with Serbians that killed and injured hundreds. Serbs allegedly chased the boys into a river that separates their communities.
Terry Nichols goes on trial this morning. He is already serving a life sentence as a conspirator in the Oklahoma City bombing. If convicted on state charges, he could be put to death.
We update our 'Top Stories' every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way
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