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CNN Live At Daybreak

Weapons Search; Paying for Afghanistan; Binge Drinking; Scott Peterson Case

Aired March 31, 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.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Terror on the streets of Fallujah as insurgents set their sights on civilians.
Good morning to you. Welcome to the second half hour of DAYBREAK. It is Wednesday, March 31. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Let me bring you up to date now.

Five members of the American military are dead after they were hit by a roadside bomb. Military sources say the blast happened west of Baghdad near Fallujah.

OPEC ministers meet today to discuss their pending slowdown in production. They had agreed to drop production by one million barrels a day starting tomorrow.

The fire at a Texas oil refinery is still burning this morning, but it's now under control. No one hurt when an unexplained explosion ignited a huge fire last night.

Jury deliberations are entering their 10th day in the trial of two former Tyco executives accused of bilking $600 million from the company.

To the Weather Wall and, Chad, good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Closed-door hearings in Washington have centered on the latest intelligence in the ongoing search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. And the man they are hearing it from is the new man in charge.

CNN's David Ensor has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just back from his first six weeks on the job in Iraq, Charles Duelfer, the CIA's new man in charge of looking for weapons of mass destruction says though nothing has been found yet, he does not rule out finding weapons. CHARLES DUELFER, CIA CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR: We continue to receive reports almost on a daily basis of hidden weapons, of hidden materials, which we have to investigate.

ENSOR: Duelfer told Senators he's found more evidence Saddam Hussein's regime had civilian factories able to quickly produce biological and chemical weapons but he said most Iraqi scientists and engineers are afraid to tell what they know.

DUELFER: There's a fear that if they're seen to be cooperating with the United States and its coalition partners that regime elements may seek retribution on them so there's enormous reluctance on the part of scientists to come forth. That surprised me. This is more akin to a homicide investigation than simply a search to find existing weapons.

ENSOR: Duelfer, who was deputy director of the U.N.'s effort to find weapons in Iraq in the '90s, says the U.S. occupation has actually made the job harder, not easier.

DUELFER: I've got a lot of armored cars which are riddled with bullet holes that our inspectors were in and were they not armored these people would be, you know, injured or dead.

ENSOR: One senior Senator in the room for Duelfer's closed door testimony says after looking at the unclassified version put out in public by the CIA that he is troubled.

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: Again, the CIA is making a mistake of having its public statements different in tone in a significant way from its underlying classified documents.

DUELFER: It may simply be that in the process of declassification something is lost but certainly it is not my intent to show, you know, a different version in the public as opposed to the classified version.

ENSOR (on camera): Charles Duelfer is heading back to Baghdad soon, which he says will be a relief after the intense political atmosphere in Washington. Only half joking he said it's safer in Baghdad.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And the international community is focusing today on Afghanistan. A big donors conference getting under way now in Germany. Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived there this morning.

Our Stephanie Halasz has all the details for you from Berlin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE HALASZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder opened the conference in a speech saying that Afghanistan was not only crucial to Afghans but to everyone around the world. And he said that the political process and free elections were crucial also for the reconstruction of the country, and further, security and the rule of law.

Now this conference has three parts to it, a political and pledging part, which is today. And Thursday is devoted to security. Security, of course, also a major issue in the war-ravaged country, because without that, donors feel that their financial support may not pay off.

Another hot point on the agenda, the growth and trade of illegal drugs. Seventy-five percent of all global opium production, of course, comes from Afghanistan. More than 50 percent of the country's GDP is made from drugs. And of course, drug trade brings in it -- with it crime and instability, donors here feel.

And one of the most high-profiled guests here is U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. He will spend much of the day in bilateral meetings. He will talk to the press later on. He will spend the night here and tomorrow morning go to a German school to talk to high school students there. Then he will take the plane to Brussels to attend a NATO meeting there.

Stephanie Halasz, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Before we talk more about Afghanistan, we want to talk about what's going on in Iraq this morning. It's been a bloody and violent day. Five U.S. military personnel killed.

Our senior international editor David Clinch is here to tell us more about this.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes, good morning, Carol.

Really a horrific day in Iraq. This Sunni Triangle, we've talked about this a lot before, Baghdad, Fallujah, Ramadi, that triangle of area in central, north-central Iraq. We had initial reports of an incident in Baquava (ph). Then the military told us about an incident near Fallujah in which five U.S. soldiers were killed.

We then started getting pictures from Fallujah, which at first appeared perhaps to be that incident, but now appear clearly to be a different incident. The U.S. military not giving us details on this incident yet, but we're hearing...

COSTELLO: And the pictures you are talking about is with the vehicle on fire?

CLINCH: This is what we are seeing from Fallujah now. This -- these are vehicles, we are told by our own people who are in Fallujah, which were carrying U.S. military personnel through Fallujah. They were attacked by a group. We don't know exactly by who. And then after the vehicles were attacked, a crowd surrounded them. As you can see here, I mean the pictures speak for themselves. Stones were thrown.

What we are not showing you, but we do have pictures of, and I want to make this clear, these pictures are just too graphic to look at at this point. We're assessing whether we can, at some point, show a version of them to illustrate this. But the bodies of at least two, again, apparently Americans, because this has not been confirmed, dragged from the car, burning bodies, then mutilated. And again, we're seeing this. This is not...

COSTELLO: By the crowds of people that we saw?

CLINCH: By the crowd, a celebrating crowd, and then dragged, at least briefly, through the streets. Now you know we have seen this before in the aftermath of attacks, bodies of U.S., I remember there was an incident in northern Iraq where this happened before. But this is one of the worst instances that we have seen in a long time of the bodies of Americans killed in attacks mutilated.

And again, I should stress, we're -- we know what we have seen. We know that they appear to be Americans, but we are, as I stated, waiting official confirmation of what exactly happened in this instance.

COSTELLO: Well you know Jim Clancy in his earlier report live out of Baghdad was mentioning how one vehicle was leaving a U.S. military compound, but we don't know who was in the car. We don't know if they were journalists.

CLINCH: Right. Again, what we know in terms of the bodies on the ground is that they appear to be Americans. Whether they were soldiers or contractors or, as you say, perhaps journalists, and it could be. We are waiting to hear that. But...

COSTELLO: And this incident is separate from the five U.S. soldiers that were killed?

CLINCH: From the confirmed incident, which we don't have pictures of yet, of five U.S. soldiers killed. So, obviously, we're waiting to clarify on that instance, as well, what happened there. So a pretty bad death toll so far, at least, and also just this political and, you know, graphic impact that these pictures have when you see bodies being abused like that.

COSTELLO: All right. Hopefully you'll have more for us at 6:00.

CLINCH: Right.

COSTELLO: David Clinch, many thanks.

Scott Peterson's attorney is crying foul. That tops our look at stories 'Across America' this Wednesday. Peterson's attorney is accusing a potential juror of saying his client is guilty as hell and should get everything he deserves. Peterson is charged with killing his wife and unborn baby. The judge ordered the woman accused of making those statements to return to court in May. She denies having said those things. Sources say the boy who accused Michael Jackson of molesting him has testified before a Santa Barbara grand jury. On Monday, jurors heard testimony from the attorney for another boy who claimed he was molested by Jackson back in 1993. That case was settled out of court.

Testimony in the Terry Nichols murder trial is centering on Timothy McVeigh and his attempts to buy explosives. McVeigh made those inquiries from a phone in Nichols' home. Nichols is charged with 161 counts of murder for his role at the Oklahoma City bombing.

The search will resume today for a 20-year-old college student in Madison, Wisconsin, who has been missing now for four days. Audrey Seiler was last seen on a security camera leaving her dorm room without her coat or purse.

Coming up next on DAYBREAK, about-face on Capitol Hill, Condoleezza Rice agrees to testify. But will the reward be worth the risk?

This is DAYBREAK for Wednesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:44 Eastern Time. Here is what's all new this morning.

A judge's ruling gives prosecutors another two months to prepare evidence and charges against Charles McCoy Jr. in the Columbus highway shootings case. McCoy's mother testified she found several of her son's guns, but she was afraid to confront him.

Three other countries, in addition to the U.S., are preparing charges against more than 200 people who are accused of illegally uploading and downloading music over the Internet.

In money news, AOL is offering a shiny Porsche to the winner of their Anti-Spam Sweepstakes. AOL received this car as part of a lawsuit against a spammer last year.

In sports, the University of Minnesota is heading to its first ever women's Final Four appearance after knocking off Duke. In the other regional, Tennessee advances to its third straight Final Four with a win over Stanford.

In culture, TV's "Will & Grace" will have no Grace for the last few episodes of the season. Star Debra Messing has been told by her doctor to stay home during her final months of pregnancy -- Chad.

MYERS: And a little cool across the northeast, Carol. Even cold in Chicago, if you will, a high of 42. We've raised our standards to like the 50s and the 60s, and it's going to be colder than that for the next five days.

COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, Chad.

Coming up in the next hour of DAYBREAK, OPEC 101, why those four little letters are so very important to your pocketbook.

And bottoms up, but only in moderation. Up next, how booze can actually be good for your health.

This is DAYBREAK for Wednesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: What beautiful spring flowers we have here this morning.

Welcome back to DAYBREAK.

Some 'Health Headlines' for you now.

Did you know that allergies trigger most asthma attacks? It is particularly important to be aware of this time of year when the pollen count is rising. More than 17 million Americans have asthma. Doctors say those with severe allergic asthma may get help from a new drug called Xolair.

Pump up the volume, in the operating room of all places. Turns out many surgical teams perform operations while listening to music so it's not all quiet and intense when you are under the knife. I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse.

A report on binge drinking has found the problem to be most common in the upper midwest and Texas. And no, college students are not the main offenders. The study defines binge drinking as consuming five or more alcoholic beverages within a few hours.

There are some benefits to alcohol, though, but in moderation please.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Let's try and settle this.

For everyone who watches these reports and feels better about that beer or wine, well you can. Sort of.

Here are the facts. One to two glasses a day may keep the doctor away, but no more, maybe no less. That's the definition of moderate drinking.

It can raise your HDL, or good cholesterol, and that may be good for your heart. Alcohol, in combination with caffeine, can limit the damage to your brain after a stroke, even though it may not lower your risk of having a stroke.

Your risk of diabetes goes down with moderate drinking, according to the USDA, and alcohol will actually improve insulin sensibility in post-menopausal women, a particularly vulnerable group. And if that weren't enough, dementia rates increased by half in those older adults who drank one to six drinks per week.

Of course, it turns out moderate drinking can mean different things to different people. So here are the numbers, according to the latest research. Two drinks a day for men and one a day for women is a good guideline.

Of course, you should not drink if you are pregnant.

And if you want the best health benefits, don't drink your whole week's allotment at once. Remember, we're talking about moderate drinking.

(on camera) Now, a lot of people ask if all alcohols are created the same. Well, in this case, they probably are. That martini may be as good as that glad of red wine.

Red wine got a lot of play because of all the health benefits of it in association with healthy lifestyle. But all alcohols may be similar.

There certainly are people who probably should not drink, should not start drinking. Take a look at the list there. Certainly, women who are pregnant, but also women with a high risk of breast cancer, if you've been exposed to Hepatitis C, personal or family problems.

Again remember, moderate drinking, that's the key.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: For more on this or any other health story, head to our Web site. The address CNN.com/Health.

It's time to take a look at headlines from across the nation. But before we get to that,...

MYERS: OK.

COSTELLO: ... we have news that Joey Tribbianos (ph) -- is that how you say his name from "Friends?"

MYERS: Tribbiani.

COSTELLO: Tribbiani.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: You can see how often I watch "Friends."

MYERS: You see -- exactly.

COSTELLO: I'm so out of the pop culture world when it comes to prime time television, because I'm sleeping. MYERS: Exactly. We are all sleeping. And finally now there are these digital video recorders that I can actually tape some things.

COSTELLO: TiVo.

MYERS: Exactly, because my VCR doesn't work. It never did. So finally got the...

COSTELLO: You never could work it, actually.

MYERS: Never. So I finally got that thing.

COSTELLO: But anyway, this woman from "The Sopranos" is going to join Joey's new show.

MYERS: Yes, she's going to be his sister. And the funny part is, she also didn't watch the show. When "Friends" was on, she didn't have a TV.

COSTELLO: Drea de Mateo, and I'm -- she's going to join Joey Tribbiani. Supposedly there's this great chemistry between the two. And she's going to play the sister, but she's going to be smarter than Joey, the character.

MYERS: Right, because she says I'm not very funny and I know it.

COSTELLO: Should be a great addition then.

MYERS: So, but she's going to watch every "Friends" episode in the next two weeks.

COSTELLO: That's good she's doing her homework.

MYERS: That ought to be a great marathon.

COSTELLO: Yes, OK, let's look at 'The Front Pages' from across the land.

MYERS: OK.

COSTELLO: This is from out of the "Chicago Sun Times." And the headline here is can cheaters ever win? They are talking about drug testing. You know employers will test their...

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: ... perspective employee's urine...

MYERS: Of course.

COSTELLO: ... to see if there are any drugs in their system.

MYERS: Yes, well there's a lot of cheating going on, or so it seems.

COSTELLO: A lot of cheating. And you can go on the Internet and find ways to cheat, cheat, cheat very effectively. So the federal government is hoping to crack down on the cheating by broadening testing of its own employees to include saliva, hair and sweat. And of course the companies on the Internet who are designing things to beat the drug test are also designing things to beat tests on saliva and sweat.

MYERS: Already on the hair, there is a shampoo that will wash any trace of anything out of your hair.

COSTELLO: That's just crazy.

MYERS: I know.

COSTELLO: That's just crazy.

All right, this is from "The Boston Globe," and you know what the headline is going to be from here, vote ties civil unions to gay- marriage ban. That subject is going to go on and on. Both sides on the issue view it kind of as a defeat because nobody is getting what they really want because the legislator has come to this compromise.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: So you can't get married if you are gay, but you can have a civil union...

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: ... and you can enjoy all the benefits of marriage.

MYERS: But the Supreme Court already said that it was OK. And now they are asking for a stay to stop these civil.

COSTELLO: I know, it gives you a headache, does it?

MYERS: My goodness, it really does.

COSTELLO: You know let's hold up the "Atlanta Journal- Constitution," because I know that's what's affecting me this morning.

MYERS: The pollen.

COSTELLO: My gosh.

MYERS: The second highest pollen count ever in Atlanta yesterday. And I'm thinking not just Atlanta. I'm thinking all the way from Charlotte right on up the northeast coast because of all of this dry air we have had, plus all of these trees are just popping all at the same time, 5,000. The number was over 5,000 in the pollen category yesterday.

COSTELLO: That's just crazy.

MYERS: You can't tell the color -- and maybe you don't get this in other places, we have so many southern pines down here. And the southern pine is not a huge pollen, asthma, you know, head problem, because the pollen grains are so big, but it turns your car yellow. I actually got out the blower and blew the pollen off my driveway. I looked like Pigpen because the pollen was blowing everywhere.

COSTELLO: And it's still March.

MYERS: So if you are -- yes, and the middle of April is going to be probably the peak of the -- some of these grains are so big they don't bother you. Some of them are very -- are very coarse, very spiny. The spiny ones, especially ragweed, those are the ones that get in your head and they just start doing bad things.

COSTELLO: Awful. All right.

MYERS: And they are still to come.

COSTELLO: We have some legal matters to take care of before we head to our 6:00 show, so let me tell you about this.

The jury in the Scott Peterson case under way, but already his attorney is upset. Attorney Mark Geragos is accusing a perspective juror of making damaging comments about his client.

CNN's Ted Rowlands has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The potential juror a grandmother estimated to be in her sixties seemed visibly shaken according to those in the courtroom when defense attorney Mark Geragos asked her if she was trying to lie her way on to the jury to convict Scott Peterson. Citing a phone tip to his office, Geragos claims an acquaintance of the potential juror said she was bragging about passing the initial juror test and said of Scott Peterson, quote, "he's guilty as hell and I'm going to get him."

Later Geragos labeled her as a stealth juror.

MARK GERAGOS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: A stealth juror is somebody who comes into a courtroom and has an agenda and does not disclose that agenda and tries to get on the jury to execute that agenda.

ROWLANDS: The man providing the tip, according to Geragos, is a resident of the same seniors citizen center as the potential juror. The statements, according to Geragos, were allegedly made on a group bus trip to Reno, Nevada. In court, the potential juror repeatedly denied the accusations and at one point she raised her hand to seemingly acknowledge that she knew that she was under oath.

DEAN JOHNSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: What could happen to her? She could potentially be prosecuted by the San Mateo county district attorney's office for perjury and that carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison.

ROWLANDS: The judge issued a subpoena for the alleged whistleblower to come to court and tell his story under oath. (on camera): The district attorney here in San Mateo County has indicated that he is aware of what happened in court but said that it would be a long shot for him to actually charge this woman with perjury. Meanwhile, court has adjourned for the week. Mark Geragos is scheduled to appear in a Santa Maria courtroom on Friday representing Michael Jackson.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Redwood City, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And coming up in the next hour of DAYBREAK, violence overnight in one Iraqi city. We will take you live to Baghdad.

You stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired March 31, 2004 - 05:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Terror on the streets of Fallujah as insurgents set their sights on civilians.
Good morning to you. Welcome to the second half hour of DAYBREAK. It is Wednesday, March 31. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Let me bring you up to date now.

Five members of the American military are dead after they were hit by a roadside bomb. Military sources say the blast happened west of Baghdad near Fallujah.

OPEC ministers meet today to discuss their pending slowdown in production. They had agreed to drop production by one million barrels a day starting tomorrow.

The fire at a Texas oil refinery is still burning this morning, but it's now under control. No one hurt when an unexplained explosion ignited a huge fire last night.

Jury deliberations are entering their 10th day in the trial of two former Tyco executives accused of bilking $600 million from the company.

To the Weather Wall and, Chad, good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Closed-door hearings in Washington have centered on the latest intelligence in the ongoing search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. And the man they are hearing it from is the new man in charge.

CNN's David Ensor has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just back from his first six weeks on the job in Iraq, Charles Duelfer, the CIA's new man in charge of looking for weapons of mass destruction says though nothing has been found yet, he does not rule out finding weapons. CHARLES DUELFER, CIA CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR: We continue to receive reports almost on a daily basis of hidden weapons, of hidden materials, which we have to investigate.

ENSOR: Duelfer told Senators he's found more evidence Saddam Hussein's regime had civilian factories able to quickly produce biological and chemical weapons but he said most Iraqi scientists and engineers are afraid to tell what they know.

DUELFER: There's a fear that if they're seen to be cooperating with the United States and its coalition partners that regime elements may seek retribution on them so there's enormous reluctance on the part of scientists to come forth. That surprised me. This is more akin to a homicide investigation than simply a search to find existing weapons.

ENSOR: Duelfer, who was deputy director of the U.N.'s effort to find weapons in Iraq in the '90s, says the U.S. occupation has actually made the job harder, not easier.

DUELFER: I've got a lot of armored cars which are riddled with bullet holes that our inspectors were in and were they not armored these people would be, you know, injured or dead.

ENSOR: One senior Senator in the room for Duelfer's closed door testimony says after looking at the unclassified version put out in public by the CIA that he is troubled.

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: Again, the CIA is making a mistake of having its public statements different in tone in a significant way from its underlying classified documents.

DUELFER: It may simply be that in the process of declassification something is lost but certainly it is not my intent to show, you know, a different version in the public as opposed to the classified version.

ENSOR (on camera): Charles Duelfer is heading back to Baghdad soon, which he says will be a relief after the intense political atmosphere in Washington. Only half joking he said it's safer in Baghdad.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And the international community is focusing today on Afghanistan. A big donors conference getting under way now in Germany. Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived there this morning.

Our Stephanie Halasz has all the details for you from Berlin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE HALASZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder opened the conference in a speech saying that Afghanistan was not only crucial to Afghans but to everyone around the world. And he said that the political process and free elections were crucial also for the reconstruction of the country, and further, security and the rule of law.

Now this conference has three parts to it, a political and pledging part, which is today. And Thursday is devoted to security. Security, of course, also a major issue in the war-ravaged country, because without that, donors feel that their financial support may not pay off.

Another hot point on the agenda, the growth and trade of illegal drugs. Seventy-five percent of all global opium production, of course, comes from Afghanistan. More than 50 percent of the country's GDP is made from drugs. And of course, drug trade brings in it -- with it crime and instability, donors here feel.

And one of the most high-profiled guests here is U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. He will spend much of the day in bilateral meetings. He will talk to the press later on. He will spend the night here and tomorrow morning go to a German school to talk to high school students there. Then he will take the plane to Brussels to attend a NATO meeting there.

Stephanie Halasz, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Before we talk more about Afghanistan, we want to talk about what's going on in Iraq this morning. It's been a bloody and violent day. Five U.S. military personnel killed.

Our senior international editor David Clinch is here to tell us more about this.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes, good morning, Carol.

Really a horrific day in Iraq. This Sunni Triangle, we've talked about this a lot before, Baghdad, Fallujah, Ramadi, that triangle of area in central, north-central Iraq. We had initial reports of an incident in Baquava (ph). Then the military told us about an incident near Fallujah in which five U.S. soldiers were killed.

We then started getting pictures from Fallujah, which at first appeared perhaps to be that incident, but now appear clearly to be a different incident. The U.S. military not giving us details on this incident yet, but we're hearing...

COSTELLO: And the pictures you are talking about is with the vehicle on fire?

CLINCH: This is what we are seeing from Fallujah now. This -- these are vehicles, we are told by our own people who are in Fallujah, which were carrying U.S. military personnel through Fallujah. They were attacked by a group. We don't know exactly by who. And then after the vehicles were attacked, a crowd surrounded them. As you can see here, I mean the pictures speak for themselves. Stones were thrown.

What we are not showing you, but we do have pictures of, and I want to make this clear, these pictures are just too graphic to look at at this point. We're assessing whether we can, at some point, show a version of them to illustrate this. But the bodies of at least two, again, apparently Americans, because this has not been confirmed, dragged from the car, burning bodies, then mutilated. And again, we're seeing this. This is not...

COSTELLO: By the crowds of people that we saw?

CLINCH: By the crowd, a celebrating crowd, and then dragged, at least briefly, through the streets. Now you know we have seen this before in the aftermath of attacks, bodies of U.S., I remember there was an incident in northern Iraq where this happened before. But this is one of the worst instances that we have seen in a long time of the bodies of Americans killed in attacks mutilated.

And again, I should stress, we're -- we know what we have seen. We know that they appear to be Americans, but we are, as I stated, waiting official confirmation of what exactly happened in this instance.

COSTELLO: Well you know Jim Clancy in his earlier report live out of Baghdad was mentioning how one vehicle was leaving a U.S. military compound, but we don't know who was in the car. We don't know if they were journalists.

CLINCH: Right. Again, what we know in terms of the bodies on the ground is that they appear to be Americans. Whether they were soldiers or contractors or, as you say, perhaps journalists, and it could be. We are waiting to hear that. But...

COSTELLO: And this incident is separate from the five U.S. soldiers that were killed?

CLINCH: From the confirmed incident, which we don't have pictures of yet, of five U.S. soldiers killed. So, obviously, we're waiting to clarify on that instance, as well, what happened there. So a pretty bad death toll so far, at least, and also just this political and, you know, graphic impact that these pictures have when you see bodies being abused like that.

COSTELLO: All right. Hopefully you'll have more for us at 6:00.

CLINCH: Right.

COSTELLO: David Clinch, many thanks.

Scott Peterson's attorney is crying foul. That tops our look at stories 'Across America' this Wednesday. Peterson's attorney is accusing a potential juror of saying his client is guilty as hell and should get everything he deserves. Peterson is charged with killing his wife and unborn baby. The judge ordered the woman accused of making those statements to return to court in May. She denies having said those things. Sources say the boy who accused Michael Jackson of molesting him has testified before a Santa Barbara grand jury. On Monday, jurors heard testimony from the attorney for another boy who claimed he was molested by Jackson back in 1993. That case was settled out of court.

Testimony in the Terry Nichols murder trial is centering on Timothy McVeigh and his attempts to buy explosives. McVeigh made those inquiries from a phone in Nichols' home. Nichols is charged with 161 counts of murder for his role at the Oklahoma City bombing.

The search will resume today for a 20-year-old college student in Madison, Wisconsin, who has been missing now for four days. Audrey Seiler was last seen on a security camera leaving her dorm room without her coat or purse.

Coming up next on DAYBREAK, about-face on Capitol Hill, Condoleezza Rice agrees to testify. But will the reward be worth the risk?

This is DAYBREAK for Wednesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:44 Eastern Time. Here is what's all new this morning.

A judge's ruling gives prosecutors another two months to prepare evidence and charges against Charles McCoy Jr. in the Columbus highway shootings case. McCoy's mother testified she found several of her son's guns, but she was afraid to confront him.

Three other countries, in addition to the U.S., are preparing charges against more than 200 people who are accused of illegally uploading and downloading music over the Internet.

In money news, AOL is offering a shiny Porsche to the winner of their Anti-Spam Sweepstakes. AOL received this car as part of a lawsuit against a spammer last year.

In sports, the University of Minnesota is heading to its first ever women's Final Four appearance after knocking off Duke. In the other regional, Tennessee advances to its third straight Final Four with a win over Stanford.

In culture, TV's "Will & Grace" will have no Grace for the last few episodes of the season. Star Debra Messing has been told by her doctor to stay home during her final months of pregnancy -- Chad.

MYERS: And a little cool across the northeast, Carol. Even cold in Chicago, if you will, a high of 42. We've raised our standards to like the 50s and the 60s, and it's going to be colder than that for the next five days.

COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, Chad.

Coming up in the next hour of DAYBREAK, OPEC 101, why those four little letters are so very important to your pocketbook.

And bottoms up, but only in moderation. Up next, how booze can actually be good for your health.

This is DAYBREAK for Wednesday.

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COSTELLO: What beautiful spring flowers we have here this morning.

Welcome back to DAYBREAK.

Some 'Health Headlines' for you now.

Did you know that allergies trigger most asthma attacks? It is particularly important to be aware of this time of year when the pollen count is rising. More than 17 million Americans have asthma. Doctors say those with severe allergic asthma may get help from a new drug called Xolair.

Pump up the volume, in the operating room of all places. Turns out many surgical teams perform operations while listening to music so it's not all quiet and intense when you are under the knife. I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse.

A report on binge drinking has found the problem to be most common in the upper midwest and Texas. And no, college students are not the main offenders. The study defines binge drinking as consuming five or more alcoholic beverages within a few hours.

There are some benefits to alcohol, though, but in moderation please.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Let's try and settle this.

For everyone who watches these reports and feels better about that beer or wine, well you can. Sort of.

Here are the facts. One to two glasses a day may keep the doctor away, but no more, maybe no less. That's the definition of moderate drinking.

It can raise your HDL, or good cholesterol, and that may be good for your heart. Alcohol, in combination with caffeine, can limit the damage to your brain after a stroke, even though it may not lower your risk of having a stroke.

Your risk of diabetes goes down with moderate drinking, according to the USDA, and alcohol will actually improve insulin sensibility in post-menopausal women, a particularly vulnerable group. And if that weren't enough, dementia rates increased by half in those older adults who drank one to six drinks per week.

Of course, it turns out moderate drinking can mean different things to different people. So here are the numbers, according to the latest research. Two drinks a day for men and one a day for women is a good guideline.

Of course, you should not drink if you are pregnant.

And if you want the best health benefits, don't drink your whole week's allotment at once. Remember, we're talking about moderate drinking.

(on camera) Now, a lot of people ask if all alcohols are created the same. Well, in this case, they probably are. That martini may be as good as that glad of red wine.

Red wine got a lot of play because of all the health benefits of it in association with healthy lifestyle. But all alcohols may be similar.

There certainly are people who probably should not drink, should not start drinking. Take a look at the list there. Certainly, women who are pregnant, but also women with a high risk of breast cancer, if you've been exposed to Hepatitis C, personal or family problems.

Again remember, moderate drinking, that's the key.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

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COSTELLO: For more on this or any other health story, head to our Web site. The address CNN.com/Health.

It's time to take a look at headlines from across the nation. But before we get to that,...

MYERS: OK.

COSTELLO: ... we have news that Joey Tribbianos (ph) -- is that how you say his name from "Friends?"

MYERS: Tribbiani.

COSTELLO: Tribbiani.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: You can see how often I watch "Friends."

MYERS: You see -- exactly.

COSTELLO: I'm so out of the pop culture world when it comes to prime time television, because I'm sleeping. MYERS: Exactly. We are all sleeping. And finally now there are these digital video recorders that I can actually tape some things.

COSTELLO: TiVo.

MYERS: Exactly, because my VCR doesn't work. It never did. So finally got the...

COSTELLO: You never could work it, actually.

MYERS: Never. So I finally got that thing.

COSTELLO: But anyway, this woman from "The Sopranos" is going to join Joey's new show.

MYERS: Yes, she's going to be his sister. And the funny part is, she also didn't watch the show. When "Friends" was on, she didn't have a TV.

COSTELLO: Drea de Mateo, and I'm -- she's going to join Joey Tribbiani. Supposedly there's this great chemistry between the two. And she's going to play the sister, but she's going to be smarter than Joey, the character.

MYERS: Right, because she says I'm not very funny and I know it.

COSTELLO: Should be a great addition then.

MYERS: So, but she's going to watch every "Friends" episode in the next two weeks.

COSTELLO: That's good she's doing her homework.

MYERS: That ought to be a great marathon.

COSTELLO: Yes, OK, let's look at 'The Front Pages' from across the land.

MYERS: OK.

COSTELLO: This is from out of the "Chicago Sun Times." And the headline here is can cheaters ever win? They are talking about drug testing. You know employers will test their...

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: ... perspective employee's urine...

MYERS: Of course.

COSTELLO: ... to see if there are any drugs in their system.

MYERS: Yes, well there's a lot of cheating going on, or so it seems.

COSTELLO: A lot of cheating. And you can go on the Internet and find ways to cheat, cheat, cheat very effectively. So the federal government is hoping to crack down on the cheating by broadening testing of its own employees to include saliva, hair and sweat. And of course the companies on the Internet who are designing things to beat the drug test are also designing things to beat tests on saliva and sweat.

MYERS: Already on the hair, there is a shampoo that will wash any trace of anything out of your hair.

COSTELLO: That's just crazy.

MYERS: I know.

COSTELLO: That's just crazy.

All right, this is from "The Boston Globe," and you know what the headline is going to be from here, vote ties civil unions to gay- marriage ban. That subject is going to go on and on. Both sides on the issue view it kind of as a defeat because nobody is getting what they really want because the legislator has come to this compromise.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: So you can't get married if you are gay, but you can have a civil union...

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: ... and you can enjoy all the benefits of marriage.

MYERS: But the Supreme Court already said that it was OK. And now they are asking for a stay to stop these civil.

COSTELLO: I know, it gives you a headache, does it?

MYERS: My goodness, it really does.

COSTELLO: You know let's hold up the "Atlanta Journal- Constitution," because I know that's what's affecting me this morning.

MYERS: The pollen.

COSTELLO: My gosh.

MYERS: The second highest pollen count ever in Atlanta yesterday. And I'm thinking not just Atlanta. I'm thinking all the way from Charlotte right on up the northeast coast because of all of this dry air we have had, plus all of these trees are just popping all at the same time, 5,000. The number was over 5,000 in the pollen category yesterday.

COSTELLO: That's just crazy.

MYERS: You can't tell the color -- and maybe you don't get this in other places, we have so many southern pines down here. And the southern pine is not a huge pollen, asthma, you know, head problem, because the pollen grains are so big, but it turns your car yellow. I actually got out the blower and blew the pollen off my driveway. I looked like Pigpen because the pollen was blowing everywhere.

COSTELLO: And it's still March.

MYERS: So if you are -- yes, and the middle of April is going to be probably the peak of the -- some of these grains are so big they don't bother you. Some of them are very -- are very coarse, very spiny. The spiny ones, especially ragweed, those are the ones that get in your head and they just start doing bad things.

COSTELLO: Awful. All right.

MYERS: And they are still to come.

COSTELLO: We have some legal matters to take care of before we head to our 6:00 show, so let me tell you about this.

The jury in the Scott Peterson case under way, but already his attorney is upset. Attorney Mark Geragos is accusing a perspective juror of making damaging comments about his client.

CNN's Ted Rowlands has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The potential juror a grandmother estimated to be in her sixties seemed visibly shaken according to those in the courtroom when defense attorney Mark Geragos asked her if she was trying to lie her way on to the jury to convict Scott Peterson. Citing a phone tip to his office, Geragos claims an acquaintance of the potential juror said she was bragging about passing the initial juror test and said of Scott Peterson, quote, "he's guilty as hell and I'm going to get him."

Later Geragos labeled her as a stealth juror.

MARK GERAGOS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: A stealth juror is somebody who comes into a courtroom and has an agenda and does not disclose that agenda and tries to get on the jury to execute that agenda.

ROWLANDS: The man providing the tip, according to Geragos, is a resident of the same seniors citizen center as the potential juror. The statements, according to Geragos, were allegedly made on a group bus trip to Reno, Nevada. In court, the potential juror repeatedly denied the accusations and at one point she raised her hand to seemingly acknowledge that she knew that she was under oath.

DEAN JOHNSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: What could happen to her? She could potentially be prosecuted by the San Mateo county district attorney's office for perjury and that carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison.

ROWLANDS: The judge issued a subpoena for the alleged whistleblower to come to court and tell his story under oath. (on camera): The district attorney here in San Mateo County has indicated that he is aware of what happened in court but said that it would be a long shot for him to actually charge this woman with perjury. Meanwhile, court has adjourned for the week. Mark Geragos is scheduled to appear in a Santa Maria courtroom on Friday representing Michael Jackson.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Redwood City, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And coming up in the next hour of DAYBREAK, violence overnight in one Iraqi city. We will take you live to Baghdad.

You stay right there.

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