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CNN Live Today
Mortar Attack on Abu Ghraib Prison in Baghdad
Aired April 20, 2004 - 10:30 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan let's take a look at top stories from this hour.
Three more suspects have been brought before a Spanish judge investigating last month's deadly Madrid train bombings. The three were suspects were arrested on Thursday and described as an Egyptian, Moroccan and Saudi citizen. So far 18 people have been charged in the March bombings.
A new study today gauges the gap between what men and women are paid. According to the Institute For Women's Policy Research, Asian American women are the highest paid group of women yet they earn on average 25 percent less than white men. Hispanics earn nearly 50 percent less than white men the full report is due to be released 90 minutes from now.
Presumptive democratic nominee John Kerry is in Florida. That is a key battle ground state in the up coming presidential election. Kerry is targeting President Bush's environmental record. Mr. Bush is scheduled to visit the sunshine state on Friday.
There she is. This is this year's National Teacher of the year; Kathy Mellor of Rhode Island will be honored at the White House tomorrow. She's the first educator from her state to receive the top teaching honor. Mellor she has worked with students who speak limited English for the past 24 years.
It has been another volatile day in Iraq. A deadly mortar assault on a Baghdad detention facility. Our pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us with more on this developing story.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you Daryn. Word coming just a few minutes ago at the Baghdad news conference by the coalition spokesman of a mortar attack on Abu Ghraib a prison in Baghdad. Eighteen mortars apparently fired at that detention facility. Twenty-two Iraqi prisoners killed. More than 100 wounded according to the coalition.
Now, in other news, there was confirmation of what was suspected. Two journalists from the U.S.-funded television station Al-Iraqiya were killed yesterday in Samarra. Confirmation now they were killed by U.S. forces apparently accidentally, of course, when U.S. troops fired at them as their car was approaching a gate at an U.S. military base.
There were warning signs warning shots were fired. The U.S. says it believes those journalists were filming in the area. It tried to stop them. But apparently something went terribly wrong. The coalition spokesman now saying there will be a full investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: It would be irresponsible, I think, for us to rush to judgment on exactly what happened. We owe it to the colleagues and management of Al-Iraqiya and owe it to the families and you to get to the bottom of what happened.
We are thoroughly committed to that. As soon as we have information that we believe is reliable in that regard, you will know about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: But, Daryn, a lot of the Iraqi journalists at that news briefing were terribly angry, asking a lot of questions about whether the coalition were concerned enough about Arab journalists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIMMITT: We deeply regret the loss of any life, in particular, to all Iraqi employees who are working for their country. And any journalists who, in the performance of his or her duty, loses his or her life on the battlefield.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Now in updating other news in Fallujah. Work to get to a permanent cease-fire, if you will, is ongoing. The coalition spokesman saying they are going to allow families back in. More food and medical supplies back in. Access to the city hospital. But also making it very clear that they want the turnover of those foreign fighters, that that will be the real key to a permanent cease fire in Fallujah.
Finally, the coalition spokesman addressing the question of international participation in the coalition saying that they will be able to work through the problem of both Spain and Honduras, making a decision to withdraw their troops that that will not risk security, they will be able to fill those gaps -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Which was my question to you, they will be able to fill those gaps Barbara, thank you for that. Pentagon by the way due to hold a briefing. Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and General Richard Myers scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Eastern and you'll see it live here on CNN.
Let's move on over to Capitol Hill that is where lawmakers open up hearings on Iraq and the rising death toll there. One focus will be the coalition's handover of power scheduled now for June 30. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has some very pointed concerns on that issue. Our congressional correspondent Joe Johns is on Capitol Hill with a closer look at that. Joe, good morning. JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Daryn good morning. A lot of talk today about military operations and the transfer of power. Most of the attention on the armed services committee where Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz is testifying.
But over at the Foreign Relations Committee there is a certain degree of irritation because the administration so far has not offered up a top department of defense official to discuss the transfer of power. This is the second time this committee has held hearings on issues such as this. The first one in March right before the war began.
Now the chairman of the committee, Richard Lugar, was polite and at the same time critical and the top democrat on the committee wasn't even polite.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: This warrants not a partisan disagreement but an honest engagement with the outfit that has to come up with the money. The outfit that has to sign the American people on to this. The United States Senate and the House of Representatives. And the administration.
And the fact that they're not prepared to send a witness either means they are totally incompetent and they don't have anything to tell us! Which would constitute incompetence or they're refusing to allow us to fulfill our constitutional responsibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Meanwhile, today, the Senate Appropriations folks continue to look into that report by Bob Woodward, that the administration effectively moved about 700 million dollars that was supposed to pay for operations in Afghanistan in order to pay for planning for the Iraq war.
Of course, the Department of Defense denies that and that is an ongoing look behind the scenes. Back to you, Daryn.
KAGAN: I want to ask you about John Negroponte, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. who will be nominated to be the next U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Will he likely be confirmed there? It has to go through the U.S. Senate. Will he likely be confirmed there?
JOHNS: Well talking to people behind the scenes here again today, we're told it doesn't look like it's going to be a big problem with Negroponte. He is highly regarded here on Capitol Hill.
However a lot of people will use the occasion of his confirmation to debate Iraq in general -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Joe Johns on Capitol Hill.
With the admitted and alleged failures in intelligence gathering before and after 9/11, serious questions are swirling around CIA Director George Tenet and his ability to weather the storm. Our national security correspondent David Ensor looks at whether Tenet will survive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SLADE GORTON, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: Mr. Tenet, we're here, of course, because of a massive intelligence failure.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): First, there were the 9/11 attacks. Then the CIA's assurance to the President that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Now, word in the Bob Woodward book that before the war, George Tenet called it a slam dunk case which even Tenet now admits it has turned out not to be.
GEORGE TENET, CIA DIRECTOR: We may have overestimated the progress Saddam was making.
ENSOR: Lesser men might have been ousted for less. But the nation's second longest serving intelligence director still has the President's confidence. Mr. Bush has said so repeatedly and recently.
DANIEL BENJAMIN, FRM. NSC MEMBER: Look, he's a very charming, very intelligent, shrewd person and it's no surprise that the President took to him.
ENSOR: Tenet is respected by many, liked by most in U.S. intelligence. And he is extremely loyal to President Bush.
TENET: He has told me firmly and directly that he's wanted it straight and he's wanted it honest and he's never wanted the facts shaded and that's what we do everyday.
ENSOR: If any administration officials ever thought of making Tenet the fall guy for intelligence failures, former officials say they would not have considered it for long.
BENJAMIN: The last thing the administration wants right now is to have a disaffected former director of central intelligence out on the street. I'm sure that he could, if he wanted to, cast the administration's deliberations of war and over the issues of WMD and terrorism in an unflattering light if he so chose.
ENSOR (on camera): Aides and friends insist Tenet would never do that. When he does leave office which they say he will do by January 20 of next year however the election goes, they say there will be no kiss and tell memoirs from George Tenet.
David Ensor, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: The mother of Kobe Bryant's accuser speaks out. Hear what she has to say about her daughter's situation.
Later, the sacrifices and thrills behind the world of horse racing and take you into the world of jockeys where there is more than just pretty horses.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Just moments ago the murder trial of Oklahoma bombing conspirator Terry Nichols resumed. Today the prosecution' star witness is expected to testify. Our national correspondent Susan Candiotti is covering the proceedings and with us from Mcallister, Oklahoma. Good morning.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Daryn It's another very windy day here in Oklahoma. As you said, court has been underway for less than half an hour. And that star witness Michael Fortier has not taken the stand but there's a lot of anticipation in the air and he is expected to begin testimony soon.
Now Michael Fortier arrived at the courthouse under heavier security than defendant Terry Nichols. Police stood not only on nearby rooftops and U.S. Marshals armed with semi-automatic rifles stood guard.
Fortier is sporting much shorter hair Shoulder length hair, much longer than the short cropped hair style he wore when he testified against bomber Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols at their federal charges. He has been in jail for nine years, is serving a 12-year sentence, convicted of knowing in advance of the bomb plot and failing to warn anyone about it.
Now, among the things he's expected to testify against his old Army buddy, Terry Nichols, is that Nichols and bomber Tim McVeigh visited Fortier several times at his home in Kingman, Arizona before the bombing. That Nichols helped make small homemade bombs in plastic containers and they all set them off in the desert.
He has also testified that McVeigh told him that Nichols was trying, at one point, to back out of the bomb plot. But that McVeigh told him he wasn't going it let that happen.
Now, there is also a question as to whether Fortier ever said anything specifically about the bomb plot in front of Fortier. So he is expected to face a tough cross-examination by the defense on behalf of Terry Nichols. He is expected to be on the stand for most of today when he does begin to testify and possibly into tomorrow -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And you will be there bringing us the latest. Susan Candiotti from McAllister, Oklahoma.
We move on to an item from another high-profile case the mother of the alleged rape victim in the Kobe Bryant case is speaking out for the first time publicly offering some motherly support.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOBE BRYANT'S ACCUSER'S MOTHER: I want to thank my daughter for teaching me about courage. I'm proud to be her mom. Keep fighting, keep trying, and keep supporting victim's rights.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: The woman spoke at a rally for national victim's awareness in Denver yesterday. Her husband was also there, but he did not speak. The 19-year-old woman at the center of the trial was not at this rally.
We are not reporting the mother's name because of CNN's policy of not reporting information that would reveal the names of alleged sexual assault victims.
High stakes and high risks a new documentary that goes inside the world of a jockey and we have a preview for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That two minutes, that two minutes. Weighing 112 pounds and guiding these thousand pound animals around there in a pack of five, six, seven, eight to ten of them is quite a thrill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Looking and listening to scenes from "Jockey." That's a new documentary soon to appear on HBO that takes a look behind the scenes of the sacrifices and the risks of those professional riders.
We have two of those jockeys with us right now Shane Sellers and Randy Romero are both jockeys and featured in the documentary and they are joining us live from New York. Gentlemen, good morning. Thanks for being with us.
SHANE SELLERS, JOCKEY: Good morning.
RANDY ROMERO, JOCKEY: Hi, Daryn.
KAGAN: As I was previewing the documentary last night, I'm listening to the terrible stuff that you guys go through. The weight loss and the danger and I kept asking, well, then what is the payoff? Why do you do it? And then saw a little bit of what we saw there. Talking about the thrill of what it's like to be on this huge animal speeding down a track. Can you tell us more about that?
ROMERO: We've been doing it when I was real, real young and started and got to riding bigger and better aces and after awhile when you're small and you grow up to be a little heavier and the problem is now that the scales are so light. They're a hundred years old. The scale needs to be picked up at a level where it could be more competitive.
KAGAN: A big part of the focus of the documentary talks about what you guys go through to keep your weight down. Well below 110 pounds, which sounds almost impossible. Let's look at another clip from the documentary which deals with that very issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't make 107 pounds. I said what do I have to do? The older riders, first thing was take me to the back to the bathroom and first thing I did was taught me how to heave. What I did eat that I couldn't keep, I would have to get rid of it. If I needed to take off 2, 3, 4 pounds, I had to get in a sweat box and take off water weight before I rode.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Randy, you're so honest about what it takes to keep the weight down and during the documentary, there is some very jarring scenes of the toll that that has taken on your body over the many years. When you look at that, does it feel like it's all worth it for what you've been able to do to yourself, but also do with your career?
ROMERO: I love riding and I did it when I was a young kid and it was my goal and my dreams to ride in the derbies and riding through the graces. If I had to do it over again, I'd just watch what I would of eaten and did it a little different, but as far as a rider I wouldn't change nothing.
KAGAN: Because, because the thrill of the career has been that great?
ROMERO: Yes. I had a great career.
KAGAN: Shane, let's bring you in here. You had a little bit time away from the track because you hurt your knee but as we see in the documentary, you're trying to work your way back. What kind of perspective did you get in your time away from the horses?
SELLERS: I realized watching Randy what he's gone through now that I didn't want to do that to my body anymore. And the bottom line is that the majority of riders ride two or three percent body fat and below 5 percent you're doing permanent damage to your body. So this has turned into not a weight issue but a health issue. And basically we risk our health to risk our lives every day.
KAGAN: You're still in it. In fact you're riding the Kentucky Derby?
SELLERS: Yes I am. I was able to make it back but I don't do all of the rigorous things I did before to hold my weight down. But I can't do as light as I did any more. I do 117.
And I was fortunate enough to make it back and fortunate enough to be on one of the Derby favorite's.
KAGAN: You're riding the cliff's edge, if my notes are correct.
SELLERS: Yes, ma'am.
KAGAN: We wish you well on May 1 at the Kentucky Derby. And, Randy, you're soon joining going into the Hockey Jockey Hall of Fame. So congratulations to you.
ROMERO: Thank you so much.
KAGAN: Thank you for sharing your personal story. Once again the documentary is called "Jockey." And it premiers on HBO on Monday at 8:00 p.m. Thank you both.
ROMERO: Thank you.
KAGAN: Prepare for takeoff. Has the era of the Jetsons' jetpack arrived? After the break, one man's mission to fly away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: He's known as rocket man and he's aiming to achieve a new world record. Eric Scott is a professional stunt man and U.S. Air Force veteran. This morning his rocket backpack propelled him to 13 stories into the air which if certified will triple his current record. The super futuristic rocket pack fires super heated hydrogen peroxide and shoots him from zero to 75 miles an hour in just two seconds.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired April 20, 2004 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan let's take a look at top stories from this hour.
Three more suspects have been brought before a Spanish judge investigating last month's deadly Madrid train bombings. The three were suspects were arrested on Thursday and described as an Egyptian, Moroccan and Saudi citizen. So far 18 people have been charged in the March bombings.
A new study today gauges the gap between what men and women are paid. According to the Institute For Women's Policy Research, Asian American women are the highest paid group of women yet they earn on average 25 percent less than white men. Hispanics earn nearly 50 percent less than white men the full report is due to be released 90 minutes from now.
Presumptive democratic nominee John Kerry is in Florida. That is a key battle ground state in the up coming presidential election. Kerry is targeting President Bush's environmental record. Mr. Bush is scheduled to visit the sunshine state on Friday.
There she is. This is this year's National Teacher of the year; Kathy Mellor of Rhode Island will be honored at the White House tomorrow. She's the first educator from her state to receive the top teaching honor. Mellor she has worked with students who speak limited English for the past 24 years.
It has been another volatile day in Iraq. A deadly mortar assault on a Baghdad detention facility. Our pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us with more on this developing story.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you Daryn. Word coming just a few minutes ago at the Baghdad news conference by the coalition spokesman of a mortar attack on Abu Ghraib a prison in Baghdad. Eighteen mortars apparently fired at that detention facility. Twenty-two Iraqi prisoners killed. More than 100 wounded according to the coalition.
Now, in other news, there was confirmation of what was suspected. Two journalists from the U.S.-funded television station Al-Iraqiya were killed yesterday in Samarra. Confirmation now they were killed by U.S. forces apparently accidentally, of course, when U.S. troops fired at them as their car was approaching a gate at an U.S. military base.
There were warning signs warning shots were fired. The U.S. says it believes those journalists were filming in the area. It tried to stop them. But apparently something went terribly wrong. The coalition spokesman now saying there will be a full investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: It would be irresponsible, I think, for us to rush to judgment on exactly what happened. We owe it to the colleagues and management of Al-Iraqiya and owe it to the families and you to get to the bottom of what happened.
We are thoroughly committed to that. As soon as we have information that we believe is reliable in that regard, you will know about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: But, Daryn, a lot of the Iraqi journalists at that news briefing were terribly angry, asking a lot of questions about whether the coalition were concerned enough about Arab journalists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIMMITT: We deeply regret the loss of any life, in particular, to all Iraqi employees who are working for their country. And any journalists who, in the performance of his or her duty, loses his or her life on the battlefield.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Now in updating other news in Fallujah. Work to get to a permanent cease-fire, if you will, is ongoing. The coalition spokesman saying they are going to allow families back in. More food and medical supplies back in. Access to the city hospital. But also making it very clear that they want the turnover of those foreign fighters, that that will be the real key to a permanent cease fire in Fallujah.
Finally, the coalition spokesman addressing the question of international participation in the coalition saying that they will be able to work through the problem of both Spain and Honduras, making a decision to withdraw their troops that that will not risk security, they will be able to fill those gaps -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Which was my question to you, they will be able to fill those gaps Barbara, thank you for that. Pentagon by the way due to hold a briefing. Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and General Richard Myers scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Eastern and you'll see it live here on CNN.
Let's move on over to Capitol Hill that is where lawmakers open up hearings on Iraq and the rising death toll there. One focus will be the coalition's handover of power scheduled now for June 30. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has some very pointed concerns on that issue. Our congressional correspondent Joe Johns is on Capitol Hill with a closer look at that. Joe, good morning. JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Daryn good morning. A lot of talk today about military operations and the transfer of power. Most of the attention on the armed services committee where Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz is testifying.
But over at the Foreign Relations Committee there is a certain degree of irritation because the administration so far has not offered up a top department of defense official to discuss the transfer of power. This is the second time this committee has held hearings on issues such as this. The first one in March right before the war began.
Now the chairman of the committee, Richard Lugar, was polite and at the same time critical and the top democrat on the committee wasn't even polite.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: This warrants not a partisan disagreement but an honest engagement with the outfit that has to come up with the money. The outfit that has to sign the American people on to this. The United States Senate and the House of Representatives. And the administration.
And the fact that they're not prepared to send a witness either means they are totally incompetent and they don't have anything to tell us! Which would constitute incompetence or they're refusing to allow us to fulfill our constitutional responsibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Meanwhile, today, the Senate Appropriations folks continue to look into that report by Bob Woodward, that the administration effectively moved about 700 million dollars that was supposed to pay for operations in Afghanistan in order to pay for planning for the Iraq war.
Of course, the Department of Defense denies that and that is an ongoing look behind the scenes. Back to you, Daryn.
KAGAN: I want to ask you about John Negroponte, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. who will be nominated to be the next U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Will he likely be confirmed there? It has to go through the U.S. Senate. Will he likely be confirmed there?
JOHNS: Well talking to people behind the scenes here again today, we're told it doesn't look like it's going to be a big problem with Negroponte. He is highly regarded here on Capitol Hill.
However a lot of people will use the occasion of his confirmation to debate Iraq in general -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Joe Johns on Capitol Hill.
With the admitted and alleged failures in intelligence gathering before and after 9/11, serious questions are swirling around CIA Director George Tenet and his ability to weather the storm. Our national security correspondent David Ensor looks at whether Tenet will survive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SLADE GORTON, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: Mr. Tenet, we're here, of course, because of a massive intelligence failure.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): First, there were the 9/11 attacks. Then the CIA's assurance to the President that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Now, word in the Bob Woodward book that before the war, George Tenet called it a slam dunk case which even Tenet now admits it has turned out not to be.
GEORGE TENET, CIA DIRECTOR: We may have overestimated the progress Saddam was making.
ENSOR: Lesser men might have been ousted for less. But the nation's second longest serving intelligence director still has the President's confidence. Mr. Bush has said so repeatedly and recently.
DANIEL BENJAMIN, FRM. NSC MEMBER: Look, he's a very charming, very intelligent, shrewd person and it's no surprise that the President took to him.
ENSOR: Tenet is respected by many, liked by most in U.S. intelligence. And he is extremely loyal to President Bush.
TENET: He has told me firmly and directly that he's wanted it straight and he's wanted it honest and he's never wanted the facts shaded and that's what we do everyday.
ENSOR: If any administration officials ever thought of making Tenet the fall guy for intelligence failures, former officials say they would not have considered it for long.
BENJAMIN: The last thing the administration wants right now is to have a disaffected former director of central intelligence out on the street. I'm sure that he could, if he wanted to, cast the administration's deliberations of war and over the issues of WMD and terrorism in an unflattering light if he so chose.
ENSOR (on camera): Aides and friends insist Tenet would never do that. When he does leave office which they say he will do by January 20 of next year however the election goes, they say there will be no kiss and tell memoirs from George Tenet.
David Ensor, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: The mother of Kobe Bryant's accuser speaks out. Hear what she has to say about her daughter's situation.
Later, the sacrifices and thrills behind the world of horse racing and take you into the world of jockeys where there is more than just pretty horses.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Just moments ago the murder trial of Oklahoma bombing conspirator Terry Nichols resumed. Today the prosecution' star witness is expected to testify. Our national correspondent Susan Candiotti is covering the proceedings and with us from Mcallister, Oklahoma. Good morning.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Daryn It's another very windy day here in Oklahoma. As you said, court has been underway for less than half an hour. And that star witness Michael Fortier has not taken the stand but there's a lot of anticipation in the air and he is expected to begin testimony soon.
Now Michael Fortier arrived at the courthouse under heavier security than defendant Terry Nichols. Police stood not only on nearby rooftops and U.S. Marshals armed with semi-automatic rifles stood guard.
Fortier is sporting much shorter hair Shoulder length hair, much longer than the short cropped hair style he wore when he testified against bomber Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols at their federal charges. He has been in jail for nine years, is serving a 12-year sentence, convicted of knowing in advance of the bomb plot and failing to warn anyone about it.
Now, among the things he's expected to testify against his old Army buddy, Terry Nichols, is that Nichols and bomber Tim McVeigh visited Fortier several times at his home in Kingman, Arizona before the bombing. That Nichols helped make small homemade bombs in plastic containers and they all set them off in the desert.
He has also testified that McVeigh told him that Nichols was trying, at one point, to back out of the bomb plot. But that McVeigh told him he wasn't going it let that happen.
Now, there is also a question as to whether Fortier ever said anything specifically about the bomb plot in front of Fortier. So he is expected to face a tough cross-examination by the defense on behalf of Terry Nichols. He is expected to be on the stand for most of today when he does begin to testify and possibly into tomorrow -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And you will be there bringing us the latest. Susan Candiotti from McAllister, Oklahoma.
We move on to an item from another high-profile case the mother of the alleged rape victim in the Kobe Bryant case is speaking out for the first time publicly offering some motherly support.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOBE BRYANT'S ACCUSER'S MOTHER: I want to thank my daughter for teaching me about courage. I'm proud to be her mom. Keep fighting, keep trying, and keep supporting victim's rights.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: The woman spoke at a rally for national victim's awareness in Denver yesterday. Her husband was also there, but he did not speak. The 19-year-old woman at the center of the trial was not at this rally.
We are not reporting the mother's name because of CNN's policy of not reporting information that would reveal the names of alleged sexual assault victims.
High stakes and high risks a new documentary that goes inside the world of a jockey and we have a preview for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That two minutes, that two minutes. Weighing 112 pounds and guiding these thousand pound animals around there in a pack of five, six, seven, eight to ten of them is quite a thrill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Looking and listening to scenes from "Jockey." That's a new documentary soon to appear on HBO that takes a look behind the scenes of the sacrifices and the risks of those professional riders.
We have two of those jockeys with us right now Shane Sellers and Randy Romero are both jockeys and featured in the documentary and they are joining us live from New York. Gentlemen, good morning. Thanks for being with us.
SHANE SELLERS, JOCKEY: Good morning.
RANDY ROMERO, JOCKEY: Hi, Daryn.
KAGAN: As I was previewing the documentary last night, I'm listening to the terrible stuff that you guys go through. The weight loss and the danger and I kept asking, well, then what is the payoff? Why do you do it? And then saw a little bit of what we saw there. Talking about the thrill of what it's like to be on this huge animal speeding down a track. Can you tell us more about that?
ROMERO: We've been doing it when I was real, real young and started and got to riding bigger and better aces and after awhile when you're small and you grow up to be a little heavier and the problem is now that the scales are so light. They're a hundred years old. The scale needs to be picked up at a level where it could be more competitive.
KAGAN: A big part of the focus of the documentary talks about what you guys go through to keep your weight down. Well below 110 pounds, which sounds almost impossible. Let's look at another clip from the documentary which deals with that very issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't make 107 pounds. I said what do I have to do? The older riders, first thing was take me to the back to the bathroom and first thing I did was taught me how to heave. What I did eat that I couldn't keep, I would have to get rid of it. If I needed to take off 2, 3, 4 pounds, I had to get in a sweat box and take off water weight before I rode.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Randy, you're so honest about what it takes to keep the weight down and during the documentary, there is some very jarring scenes of the toll that that has taken on your body over the many years. When you look at that, does it feel like it's all worth it for what you've been able to do to yourself, but also do with your career?
ROMERO: I love riding and I did it when I was a young kid and it was my goal and my dreams to ride in the derbies and riding through the graces. If I had to do it over again, I'd just watch what I would of eaten and did it a little different, but as far as a rider I wouldn't change nothing.
KAGAN: Because, because the thrill of the career has been that great?
ROMERO: Yes. I had a great career.
KAGAN: Shane, let's bring you in here. You had a little bit time away from the track because you hurt your knee but as we see in the documentary, you're trying to work your way back. What kind of perspective did you get in your time away from the horses?
SELLERS: I realized watching Randy what he's gone through now that I didn't want to do that to my body anymore. And the bottom line is that the majority of riders ride two or three percent body fat and below 5 percent you're doing permanent damage to your body. So this has turned into not a weight issue but a health issue. And basically we risk our health to risk our lives every day.
KAGAN: You're still in it. In fact you're riding the Kentucky Derby?
SELLERS: Yes I am. I was able to make it back but I don't do all of the rigorous things I did before to hold my weight down. But I can't do as light as I did any more. I do 117.
And I was fortunate enough to make it back and fortunate enough to be on one of the Derby favorite's.
KAGAN: You're riding the cliff's edge, if my notes are correct.
SELLERS: Yes, ma'am.
KAGAN: We wish you well on May 1 at the Kentucky Derby. And, Randy, you're soon joining going into the Hockey Jockey Hall of Fame. So congratulations to you.
ROMERO: Thank you so much.
KAGAN: Thank you for sharing your personal story. Once again the documentary is called "Jockey." And it premiers on HBO on Monday at 8:00 p.m. Thank you both.
ROMERO: Thank you.
KAGAN: Prepare for takeoff. Has the era of the Jetsons' jetpack arrived? After the break, one man's mission to fly away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: He's known as rocket man and he's aiming to achieve a new world record. Eric Scott is a professional stunt man and U.S. Air Force veteran. This morning his rocket backpack propelled him to 13 stories into the air which if certified will triple his current record. The super futuristic rocket pack fires super heated hydrogen peroxide and shoots him from zero to 75 miles an hour in just two seconds.
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