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American Morning

Announcement of Iraq's Next President Greeted by Deadly Terrorist Attack in Baghdad

Aired June 01, 2004 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Blowback today in Iraq. The announcement of the country's next president greeted by another deadly terrorist attack in Baghdad.
Panic in Seattle. Emergency crews put to the test when the city's monorail system goes up in smoke.

And battling the elements. Rising rivers put another state under water while a sudden outbreak of wildfires now has Florida praying for rain on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

HEMMER: Good morning everybody. Tuesday, the first of June. Heidi Collins working today for Soledad. Good morning to you. Special day for you, happy birthday.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you.

HEMMER: First -- also that date -- CNN went on the air, as a matter of fact, on this day in 1980.

COLLINS: It comes full circle doesn't it?

HEMMER: The synergy is so perfect.

COLLINS: That's when I was born, 1980.

HEMMER: That's right.

COLLINS: Yes.

HEMMER: In a moment here, very confused night of politics in Baghdad producing the country's next president.

He is not the man the U.S. apparently wanted initially. Sheik Ghazi al-Yawar agreed to the Iraqi presidency after 81-year-old Adnan Pachachi turned that position down.

We'll have much more on what all it means, the future for Iraq, and today's attacks also in central Baghdad a short time ago, in a moment here.

COLLINS: Also in just a few hours the double murder trial of Scott Peterson will begin in Redwood City, California. The case is expected to last as long as six months.

Jeff Toobin will be with us shortly to explain what we can expect during that time and which side has the advantage. Lots to talk about there.

HEMMER: Also the summer safety series continues today. One of the burning questions of the season. Why do those mosquitoes feast on some and leave others untouched? There is an answer.

They love me, I'll tell you that. They can see me coming all the way across that field.

COLLINS: I'm not going to tell you why they love you. It has to do with smell.

HEMMER: Yes, I would say. It's the scent. Stay tuned for more.

Jack Cafferty back from a long weekend. Good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Why they came back.

HEMMER: Yes, amen.

CAFFERTY: Have a lot of trouble finding somebody to run that government over there in Iraq aren't they?

HEMMER: Democracy is not easy.

CAFFERTY: I mean, I'd rather be the men's room attendant in the Port Authority bus terminal than try to take over as president of that country, huh?

COLLINS: Now there's a position.

CAFFERTY: Separation of church and state in this country. President Bush's faith-based initiatives are bottled up in the Congress, but he's doing a little bit of an end run.

We're going to take a look at whether this whole idea of giving government money to church groups is a good idea or not.

HEMMER: All right and welcome back.

CAFFERTY: Why thank you.

HEMMER: You got it. More on your time off in a moment.

CAFFERTY: No, not really.

HEMMER: Stay tuned.

(CROSSTALK)

COLLINS: Croquet, you got to tell them about the croquet.

HEMMER: Thank you Jack. We know a whole lot more at this hour. In fact, the day was breaking in Baghdad -- we'll learn later again throughout the day here about who leads that interim Iraqi government at the end of the month of June.

As you may know by now, a Shi'ite Muslim -- Iyad Allawi -- there on the left was named last Friday to be the interim prime minister, that's the most powerful position in the new government.

There on the right, Sheik Ghazi Al-Yawer, who just this morning was selected to be the interim president. Al-Yawer is a Sunni Muslim. He accepted the post after the American choice Adnan Pachachi turned it down.

Two deputy presidents also named today. On the left, Dr. Ibrahim Jafari, a Shiite Muslim and on the right Dr. Rowsch Shaways, a Kurd. A full slate of cabinet ministers also named.

Meanwhile, several explosions heard in Baghdad after the interim government announcements came down. For more on all of this today, Harris Whitbeck is in the green zone.

Harris, good afternoon there.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill. The explosion that we heard here about an hour and a half, two hours ago, apparently occurred outside the headquarters for the patriotic union of Kurdistan, one of the political groups currently represented in the Iraqi Governing Council.

According to eyewitnesses on the ground, some sort of celebration was taking place inside of that building when a very, very powerful car bomb went off.

Military officials on the ground are saying three people died during that blast and about 20 were injured. Again it was very, very powerful. We could hear it and see it from where we are located here.

We also heard some gunfire shortly after that blast went off. Now before that car bomb a couple of mortars were apparently fired into the green zone this morning. This as preparations were underway for the announcement of the new interim government of Iraq.

Security is extremely tight at this site inside the green zone given the amount of Iraqi leaders, Iraqi dignitaries who are present here and also given the implications of this announcement, which as the interim prime minister said, is the first step that Iraqis are taking on the road to full sovereignty here -- Bill.

HEMMER: Harris, do the Iraqi people -- are they aware of the selections that have been made at this point?

WHITBECK: They should be aware. It has been carried by some of the Arabic channels here.

There has been a certain amount of interest in what's happening, but I'm not too sure how much understanding of the process there is. The process has not been very clear.

It's been rather mysterious, and as we've all seen, it has been confusing because there have been all this political back and forth going on over the last couple of days.

People are aware that there have been several meetings going on and people are aware that a new interim government has been chosen. Again, it will take a while to gauge reaction on the streets.

Right now people seem to be about as concerned with their personal safety as they are about the political future of this country.

HEMMER: Harris Whitbeck thanks for that.

More fall out throughout the morning. Here let's talk more about the emerging government there in Iraq.

From Washington today, Walter Slocombe, a former adviser on national security at the Coalition Provisional Authority -- CPA -- in Baghdad.

Welcome, good morning to you.

WALTER SLOCOMBE, FORMER COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY ADVISER: Good morning.

HEMMER: Take the first name on the list, Ghazi al-Yawer, a Sunni. A good choice? Or a compromise choice?

SLOCOMBE: Well, I think he's an interesting choice. He is a Sunni. He's a tribal leader.

One of the things people don't realize is that that many of the tribes contain both Sunnis and Shi'a.

He's been reasonably critical of the occupation, but he also comes from a part of the country that is more diverse than some others.

It's an interesting choice and it reflects the fact that a new generation of leaders is going to be powerful in this new government.

HEMMER: Well, you know the U.S. wanted Adnan Pachachi -- or Pachachi as he's been called --recently. Why would he not want this job?

SLOCOMBE: Well, he's 82-years-old. I think he may have understood that it was not a great idea to come into this position, which is largely ceremonial, anyway, over the objections of most of the political factions in the country.

You know, he undoubtedly will explain his reasons at some point, but I would guess it's a combination of age and of a concern about lack of public support or lack of political support.

HEMMER: What does the complex process indicate to you?

SLOCOMBE: Well, this is a process of really getting together the political factions in Iraq, the different ethnic groups, the different political groups and finding agreement, not enthusiasm, probably, of all of them, but agreement on a package of personalities to run the country for six or seven months until there are elections.

And at least nominally the people who take these positions are not supposed to run in the elections. We'll see whether that holds or not.

HEMMER: Lakhdar Brahimi put out a statement and said in point of fact Adnan Pachachi enjoyed widespread support around the country, it was his first pick to take the job, which is clearly an endorsement by Lakhdar Brahimi but turned down by Adnan Pachachi.

What does it mean, what are the consequences? If the candidate backed by the United States does not get the nod?

SLOCOMBE: Well, the problem here is to have a government, which is supported and recognized by the Iraqi people and by the Iraqi political leadership as a legitimate interim government to hold elections.

Pachachi was an attractive candidate because he's old, because he's respected, because he had held high position in the past, but I think in some ways it's more advantageous to have a figure who is a figure for the future and not the past.

Remember also that in Iraq as in most countries in the world, not the United States or France, it's not the president, it's the prime minister who is the principle political figure in the country, and that is again an established Iraqi political figure a man called Allawi.

HEMMER: And our education continues for us, getting to know these gentlemen as they go forward.

Thank you Walter Slocombe, there in Washington, talking about the latest government in Baghdad. Appreciate your time this morning.

SLOCOMBE: Thank you.

HEMMER: Here's Heidi.

COLLINS: It has been a year and a half since his wife vanished on Christmas Eve, and today for the first time Scott Peterson will face a jury of his peers.

Peterson's double murder trial begins in California with opening statements. He's charged with murdering Laci and their unborn child. Whether the defendant will testify is one of many compelling issues in this case.

CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin is here now to weigh in on the strategy for both sides. And, boy, talk about how fascinated the public is with this case. Everything starts today.

Talk to us about what the prosecution will do, what the defense will do. Mainly about circumstantial evidence.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Right, prosecution very straightforward version of the facts. This is a philandering husband who wanted to get rid of his wife. Period.

It's a story, may or may not be true, but it's an easy one to understand. The defense? Basically has to I think at the beginning, at least, just sort of layback and poke holes in the prosecutions case. They're going to say, look, this story is a lot more complicated than it seems.

Yes, he was having an affair with Amber Frey, but he was also having affairs with other women. Why would he decide to kill someone all of -- to kill his wife just because -- just now out of all times.

Just no eyewitnesses, no cause of death. No -- nothing but circumstantial evidence. That's what you're going to hear from Mark Geragos, the defense lawyer today.

COLLINS: But that's pretty much common in murder cases, isn't it? I mean just because it's circumstantial evidence doesn't mean it's a weak case.

TOOBIN: Absolutely. Circumstantial evidence -- juries and I think television viewers somehow think oh, it's a -- it's bad evidence and defense lawyers always talk about oh, it's just a circumstantial case.

Our prisons are full of people convicted on circumstantial evidence. They are perfectly fine cases and they often result in convictions.

COLLINS: All right now -- as far as Amber Frey is concerned. How do you think -- I'm curious to know what you think about the jury? I mean, the jury doesn't really ever welcome a woman outside of the marriage and identify with her.

TOOBIN: Sure, but the one thing that I think jurors know is that adultery is one thing, murder is another. And the fact that he was having an adulterous affair with Amber Frey makes him a lousy husband; doesn't necessarily mean that he's a murderer.

The interesting thing about her testimony will be the taped conversations between them where he says things like she's not around anymore, she's not going to be around, suggesting that he was planning a murder. That's where her testimony could be especially damaging.

COLLINS: Quickly: they're saying this could possibly last for six months. Do you think Geragos will put Scott Peterson on the stand? TOOBIN: I think it's unlikely he'll be on the witness stand. Six months is really an outrage for a case that is essentially fairly straightforward.

If this case were in Virginia it would be three weeks, not six months. That may be too short, but I think, you know, the California judicial system is so slow and I think six months is just an outrage.

It really limits the number of jurors and the kind of people who can serve on a jury, and it really does no service to anyone.

COLLINS: All right, so, we've got six more months to talk about it. Possibly.

TOOBIN: Possibly.

COLLINS: Right.

TOOBIN: Frightening thought.

COLLINS: Jeff Toobin, thanks so much this morning.

TOOBIN: OK.

HEMMER: Lot of nature news to talk about this morning, Heidi.

Firefighters in southwestern Florida still battling a 1,300-acre blaze there battling heavy smoke and ash. Several dozen firefighters made progress yesterday against that blaze now 70 percent contained.

They hope to finish off the blaze by the end of today. Scattered rainfall has helped put out some of that fire in Florida.

From West Virginia heavy rain causing widespread flooding, forcing residents out of their homes prompting a state of emergency in some counties. At least one death has been reported as the storms that tore through the Midwest continued on their way eastward.

Now cleanup continues in the nation's midsection, about 175 tornadoes, 175 tornadoes, hit the Midwest from Texas to the Great Lakes over the weekend causing widespread damage. At least eight deaths attributed to those storms.

In Conway Springs, Kansas south of Wichita, residents tried to pick up what's left of their homes after a tornado ripped through that area. Denise Keslan (ph) of our affiliate KAKE is reporting there this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DENISE KESLAN (ph), KAKE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a roller coaster ride for residents after storms wreaked havoc on their lives.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I started praying. KESLAN: Fourteen people were crammed into Marlene Barkley's (ph) closet, children crouched and crying, waiting and wondering about what was happening above.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we -- we felt the pressure. It kind of took your breath away.

KESLAN: In a matter of minutes, it was all over. The house damaged but still standing. Not the same story next door.

ANITA PAULEY, STORM VICTIM: My husband's brother-in-law came down and said you need to go; you guys lost everything.

I thought he was joking at first, you know. And he says no, really, you've lost everything.

KESLAN: Anita Pauley and her husband left just minutes before the twister tore though. They left a candle burning in the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later they came home, the candle still burning but everything else was gone.

PAULEY: This was our house.

KESLAN: Tears?

PAULEY: Oh yes, I cried a lot yesterday.

KESLAN: But an unusual story brings a smile to their face. A bag of sugar once sat in Anita's kitchen cabinet. It was blown next door, right through the kitchen window.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unscathed. It was like you went to Dylan's (ph) and picked it up off the shelf.

KESLAN: As families picked up, emergency crews continue to carve their way through cleanup. In Sumner County an estimated 15 miles of cable needed to get customers reconnected, 110 poles broken, bent or bottomed out.

One thing that seemed to stay strong throughout, the spirit of the storm victims.

KESLAN: I know the prayer that got us through it all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Denise Keslan of affiliate KAKE reporting in Conway Spring, Kansas. What a week it has been there for those people so far and the week is not over.

COLLINS: Just unbelievable and it is only Tuesday.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Seven fifteen now, and want to let you know what's happening in other news today.

There are reportedly more cases of prisoner abuse by American forces.

According to "The Washington Post," the Army has opened investigations into at least 91 cases of possible misconduct by U.S. soldiers against detainees and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The report points to a broader range of wrongful behavior. Then Defense Department officials have so far acknowledged including allegations of stealing money, jewelry and other property.

Hundreds of people riding in Karachi, Pakistan crowds of Shiite Muslims burning down shops and blocking highways.

Police say at least three people were killed in the clashes. The violent demonstration follows yesterdays bombing of a mosque. The attack left at least 20 people dead. No claim of responsibility for the blast yet. The funerals are taking place today for the bombing victims.

In Washington State, three people are recovering from injuries after being hit by a freight train. A spokesperson says the group was crossing a bridge when the Portland-bound train rolled down the tracks.

Two other people, including a 12-year-old child, were killed from the accident. Union Pacific, which owns the train, says it will investigate.

To sports now. The L.A. Lakers moving on to the NBA finals. They beat the Minnesota Timberwolves last night. Final score 96-90.

Game Six of the Western Conference finals, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant scored a combined 45 points for the Lakers. The championship round starts on Sunday.

And a double surprise for Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts. Magazine reports say the "Pretty Woman" star is pregnant with twins. A lot of that going on these days. They apparently run in her family, in fact. Roberts is 36. She married cameraman Daniel Moder nearly two years ago. The twins will be the first children for the Roberts.

HEMMER: You read that Lakers story with such vigor and enthusiasm.

COLLINS: Little dull, wasn't it?

HEMMER: They are a tough, tough team. T-wolves had a great season. Congratulations to them, all right?

COLLINS: Yes, right.

HEMMER: In the meantime, want to get you up to Seattle on this Memorial Day yesterday. About 100 passengers in the city's famed monorail had to be evacuated after that train caught fire. It was not the Memorial Day so many had planned and this day certainly was full of tension.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kind of thought that we might be jumping out at some point.

HEMMER: Dozens were waiting near open doors and windows as the monorail cars quickly filled with smoke. Some passengers tried to calm the others while everyone stayed as low as possible.

Firefighters frantically worked to reach people trapped above, while trying to keep the smoky fire from spreading.

As firemen climbed ladders to reach passengers, the first concern small children in a number of the cars.

The first to come out, a mother and her young son who carefully came down the ladder together. Safely on the ground, the shaken mom described how quickly it happened.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a pop and then we started seeing smoke.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like a really smoking -- smoke. It was really bad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was anybody (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, it was just like -- I got like a rush headache kind of when it came and everybody was kind of -- kind of ducked down and covered their heads basically.

HEMMER: Firefighters worked from car to car bringing everyone down. The smallest passengers getting the most attention and then reunions with worried parents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were some people around that were not too very calm. They had little kids, and I could understand they wanted to get their children off, so their kids were very, very excited and there was a lot of screaming.

HEMMER: More than 40 were treated at the scene, some suffering smoke inhalation. Nine patients were taken to hospitals. For most, some oxygen and a chance to call home was all they needed.

The fire in the blue train was the first serious blaze in the monorail's history and as the smoke cleared, some firefighters started looking for the cause in the burnt car while other rescuers had a different job.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Want that?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: The cause of that fire still under investigation. The Seattle Monorail originally built for the 1962 World's Fair.

COLLINS: Time now for the Cafferty File and the "Question of the Day" from Mr. Jack.

CAFFERTY: Morning Heidi, thank you.

President Bush making another push for legislation that would give federal funds to religious groups.

Community leaders actually going to meet at the White House today at a conference to discuss the so-called Faith Based Initiatives. Remember those? Which have been stalled in Congress.

The goal is for groups who serve the needy to compete for federal money. The proponents say the government will end up just paying for religion. They worry the taxpayers money will go to groups who hire and fire based on religion.

The question we're proposing is this one: should religious groups get government money? When you think about the efficiency with which the government does anything, then maybe you set this argument about separation of church and state aside.

Look at the sciences and the bureaucracies in the federal government that are designed to help the needy, whether it's the welfare program -- any of them.

I mean, we got out of every dollar that they spend, I don't know how much of it goes to support the bureaucracy, but my sense is it's probably a lot more than the dollars that are given to church groups that feed the hungry and provide shelter to abused women, etc., etc.

So my hunch is if you want to get a bigger bang for the taxpayer's dollar, let the church's handle it. On the other hand, you got the purists who say well we can't have government getting involved in religion and yadda, yadda, yadda.

HEMMER: And it's an election year, too.

Thank you Jack.

CAFFERTY: You're most welcome.

HEMMER: All right, you got it. Just about a month away now. Less than a month, for the transfer of power in Iraq. In a moment as the violence continues is Iraq ready to govern itself? A live report from the Pentagon in a moment about what's happening there.

COLLINS: Plus, the presidential campaign gets down and dirty but is one candidate really making low blow history? We'll take a look at political pop.

HEMMER: Also a painful reminder of the power of cheese. We'll explain in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HEMMER: Another jump in oil prices. This coming off the story of Saudi Arabia. Over the weekend. Andy Serwer back from a long weekend, "Minding Your Business" back here with us. Welcome back number one.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Thank you, good to see you guys.

HEMMER: This story out of eastern province of Saudi Arabia is just devastating over the weekend.

SERWER: It is for a variety of reasons, of course, and when it comes to oil just when it looked like we were going to get some relief in terms of prices because of more production coming on stream, now this terrorist attack in Kobar on Saturday leaving 22 foreigners dead, jitters throughout the oil industry and it's sending oil prices much higher this morning.

That of course is not only not good for the oil market it's not good for stocks and we'll be following that.

A quarter -- there you go -- this is what we've got this morning up $1.62 to $41.50 -- still below the all time high of $41.89 but bad enough. A quarter of the world's oil production is in Saudi Arabia. Twenty-five thousand Americans or so work there.

Orinoco, which is the large Saudi national oil company, says 99 percent of its managers are Saudis, so its should not disrupt production over there. And it's interesting that al Qaeda seems to be targeting people and not pipelines because if they did that there would be a whole other strategy.

HEMMER: How about the story about how some of these terrorists, apparently, got away? Apparently they were allowed just to leave after they had threatened to kill more.

SERWER: Right.

HEMMER: Last week -- quickly -- we have time for the markets? Pretty good week overall.

SERWER: We did have a good week and we were up about two percent on the major indexes there so but futures this morning are looking very soft.

HEMMER: Good to have you back, though.

SERWER: Nice to see you, Bill.

COLLINS: Well, it's a cheese-chasing event that does not involve mice but men. In Britain competitors took part in an ancient 200- year-old cheese-rolling event. You may have seen some of this before.

The group goes down a hill in hot pursuit of a block of cheese. One man joked that more people get hurt here than the running of the bulls in Madrid. Somehow, I am not actually surprised about that. Look at him.

SERWER: It's a cheese head. Sorry, Wisconsin.

HEMMER: All right, the pieces starting to fall into place for that Iraqi transfer of power. Learning more names earlier today we'll explain what we are learning in a moment.

Also it's Tuesday, time for "Political Pop" again this week. Which presidential candidate stretching the truth? Or is it both of them?

What's up at Air America and who is the better bike rider? The senator or the president? All ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired June 1, 2004 - 07:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Blowback today in Iraq. The announcement of the country's next president greeted by another deadly terrorist attack in Baghdad.
Panic in Seattle. Emergency crews put to the test when the city's monorail system goes up in smoke.

And battling the elements. Rising rivers put another state under water while a sudden outbreak of wildfires now has Florida praying for rain on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

HEMMER: Good morning everybody. Tuesday, the first of June. Heidi Collins working today for Soledad. Good morning to you. Special day for you, happy birthday.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you.

HEMMER: First -- also that date -- CNN went on the air, as a matter of fact, on this day in 1980.

COLLINS: It comes full circle doesn't it?

HEMMER: The synergy is so perfect.

COLLINS: That's when I was born, 1980.

HEMMER: That's right.

COLLINS: Yes.

HEMMER: In a moment here, very confused night of politics in Baghdad producing the country's next president.

He is not the man the U.S. apparently wanted initially. Sheik Ghazi al-Yawar agreed to the Iraqi presidency after 81-year-old Adnan Pachachi turned that position down.

We'll have much more on what all it means, the future for Iraq, and today's attacks also in central Baghdad a short time ago, in a moment here.

COLLINS: Also in just a few hours the double murder trial of Scott Peterson will begin in Redwood City, California. The case is expected to last as long as six months.

Jeff Toobin will be with us shortly to explain what we can expect during that time and which side has the advantage. Lots to talk about there.

HEMMER: Also the summer safety series continues today. One of the burning questions of the season. Why do those mosquitoes feast on some and leave others untouched? There is an answer.

They love me, I'll tell you that. They can see me coming all the way across that field.

COLLINS: I'm not going to tell you why they love you. It has to do with smell.

HEMMER: Yes, I would say. It's the scent. Stay tuned for more.

Jack Cafferty back from a long weekend. Good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Why they came back.

HEMMER: Yes, amen.

CAFFERTY: Have a lot of trouble finding somebody to run that government over there in Iraq aren't they?

HEMMER: Democracy is not easy.

CAFFERTY: I mean, I'd rather be the men's room attendant in the Port Authority bus terminal than try to take over as president of that country, huh?

COLLINS: Now there's a position.

CAFFERTY: Separation of church and state in this country. President Bush's faith-based initiatives are bottled up in the Congress, but he's doing a little bit of an end run.

We're going to take a look at whether this whole idea of giving government money to church groups is a good idea or not.

HEMMER: All right and welcome back.

CAFFERTY: Why thank you.

HEMMER: You got it. More on your time off in a moment.

CAFFERTY: No, not really.

HEMMER: Stay tuned.

(CROSSTALK)

COLLINS: Croquet, you got to tell them about the croquet.

HEMMER: Thank you Jack. We know a whole lot more at this hour. In fact, the day was breaking in Baghdad -- we'll learn later again throughout the day here about who leads that interim Iraqi government at the end of the month of June.

As you may know by now, a Shi'ite Muslim -- Iyad Allawi -- there on the left was named last Friday to be the interim prime minister, that's the most powerful position in the new government.

There on the right, Sheik Ghazi Al-Yawer, who just this morning was selected to be the interim president. Al-Yawer is a Sunni Muslim. He accepted the post after the American choice Adnan Pachachi turned it down.

Two deputy presidents also named today. On the left, Dr. Ibrahim Jafari, a Shiite Muslim and on the right Dr. Rowsch Shaways, a Kurd. A full slate of cabinet ministers also named.

Meanwhile, several explosions heard in Baghdad after the interim government announcements came down. For more on all of this today, Harris Whitbeck is in the green zone.

Harris, good afternoon there.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill. The explosion that we heard here about an hour and a half, two hours ago, apparently occurred outside the headquarters for the patriotic union of Kurdistan, one of the political groups currently represented in the Iraqi Governing Council.

According to eyewitnesses on the ground, some sort of celebration was taking place inside of that building when a very, very powerful car bomb went off.

Military officials on the ground are saying three people died during that blast and about 20 were injured. Again it was very, very powerful. We could hear it and see it from where we are located here.

We also heard some gunfire shortly after that blast went off. Now before that car bomb a couple of mortars were apparently fired into the green zone this morning. This as preparations were underway for the announcement of the new interim government of Iraq.

Security is extremely tight at this site inside the green zone given the amount of Iraqi leaders, Iraqi dignitaries who are present here and also given the implications of this announcement, which as the interim prime minister said, is the first step that Iraqis are taking on the road to full sovereignty here -- Bill.

HEMMER: Harris, do the Iraqi people -- are they aware of the selections that have been made at this point?

WHITBECK: They should be aware. It has been carried by some of the Arabic channels here.

There has been a certain amount of interest in what's happening, but I'm not too sure how much understanding of the process there is. The process has not been very clear.

It's been rather mysterious, and as we've all seen, it has been confusing because there have been all this political back and forth going on over the last couple of days.

People are aware that there have been several meetings going on and people are aware that a new interim government has been chosen. Again, it will take a while to gauge reaction on the streets.

Right now people seem to be about as concerned with their personal safety as they are about the political future of this country.

HEMMER: Harris Whitbeck thanks for that.

More fall out throughout the morning. Here let's talk more about the emerging government there in Iraq.

From Washington today, Walter Slocombe, a former adviser on national security at the Coalition Provisional Authority -- CPA -- in Baghdad.

Welcome, good morning to you.

WALTER SLOCOMBE, FORMER COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY ADVISER: Good morning.

HEMMER: Take the first name on the list, Ghazi al-Yawer, a Sunni. A good choice? Or a compromise choice?

SLOCOMBE: Well, I think he's an interesting choice. He is a Sunni. He's a tribal leader.

One of the things people don't realize is that that many of the tribes contain both Sunnis and Shi'a.

He's been reasonably critical of the occupation, but he also comes from a part of the country that is more diverse than some others.

It's an interesting choice and it reflects the fact that a new generation of leaders is going to be powerful in this new government.

HEMMER: Well, you know the U.S. wanted Adnan Pachachi -- or Pachachi as he's been called --recently. Why would he not want this job?

SLOCOMBE: Well, he's 82-years-old. I think he may have understood that it was not a great idea to come into this position, which is largely ceremonial, anyway, over the objections of most of the political factions in the country.

You know, he undoubtedly will explain his reasons at some point, but I would guess it's a combination of age and of a concern about lack of public support or lack of political support.

HEMMER: What does the complex process indicate to you?

SLOCOMBE: Well, this is a process of really getting together the political factions in Iraq, the different ethnic groups, the different political groups and finding agreement, not enthusiasm, probably, of all of them, but agreement on a package of personalities to run the country for six or seven months until there are elections.

And at least nominally the people who take these positions are not supposed to run in the elections. We'll see whether that holds or not.

HEMMER: Lakhdar Brahimi put out a statement and said in point of fact Adnan Pachachi enjoyed widespread support around the country, it was his first pick to take the job, which is clearly an endorsement by Lakhdar Brahimi but turned down by Adnan Pachachi.

What does it mean, what are the consequences? If the candidate backed by the United States does not get the nod?

SLOCOMBE: Well, the problem here is to have a government, which is supported and recognized by the Iraqi people and by the Iraqi political leadership as a legitimate interim government to hold elections.

Pachachi was an attractive candidate because he's old, because he's respected, because he had held high position in the past, but I think in some ways it's more advantageous to have a figure who is a figure for the future and not the past.

Remember also that in Iraq as in most countries in the world, not the United States or France, it's not the president, it's the prime minister who is the principle political figure in the country, and that is again an established Iraqi political figure a man called Allawi.

HEMMER: And our education continues for us, getting to know these gentlemen as they go forward.

Thank you Walter Slocombe, there in Washington, talking about the latest government in Baghdad. Appreciate your time this morning.

SLOCOMBE: Thank you.

HEMMER: Here's Heidi.

COLLINS: It has been a year and a half since his wife vanished on Christmas Eve, and today for the first time Scott Peterson will face a jury of his peers.

Peterson's double murder trial begins in California with opening statements. He's charged with murdering Laci and their unborn child. Whether the defendant will testify is one of many compelling issues in this case.

CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin is here now to weigh in on the strategy for both sides. And, boy, talk about how fascinated the public is with this case. Everything starts today.

Talk to us about what the prosecution will do, what the defense will do. Mainly about circumstantial evidence.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Right, prosecution very straightforward version of the facts. This is a philandering husband who wanted to get rid of his wife. Period.

It's a story, may or may not be true, but it's an easy one to understand. The defense? Basically has to I think at the beginning, at least, just sort of layback and poke holes in the prosecutions case. They're going to say, look, this story is a lot more complicated than it seems.

Yes, he was having an affair with Amber Frey, but he was also having affairs with other women. Why would he decide to kill someone all of -- to kill his wife just because -- just now out of all times.

Just no eyewitnesses, no cause of death. No -- nothing but circumstantial evidence. That's what you're going to hear from Mark Geragos, the defense lawyer today.

COLLINS: But that's pretty much common in murder cases, isn't it? I mean just because it's circumstantial evidence doesn't mean it's a weak case.

TOOBIN: Absolutely. Circumstantial evidence -- juries and I think television viewers somehow think oh, it's a -- it's bad evidence and defense lawyers always talk about oh, it's just a circumstantial case.

Our prisons are full of people convicted on circumstantial evidence. They are perfectly fine cases and they often result in convictions.

COLLINS: All right now -- as far as Amber Frey is concerned. How do you think -- I'm curious to know what you think about the jury? I mean, the jury doesn't really ever welcome a woman outside of the marriage and identify with her.

TOOBIN: Sure, but the one thing that I think jurors know is that adultery is one thing, murder is another. And the fact that he was having an adulterous affair with Amber Frey makes him a lousy husband; doesn't necessarily mean that he's a murderer.

The interesting thing about her testimony will be the taped conversations between them where he says things like she's not around anymore, she's not going to be around, suggesting that he was planning a murder. That's where her testimony could be especially damaging.

COLLINS: Quickly: they're saying this could possibly last for six months. Do you think Geragos will put Scott Peterson on the stand? TOOBIN: I think it's unlikely he'll be on the witness stand. Six months is really an outrage for a case that is essentially fairly straightforward.

If this case were in Virginia it would be three weeks, not six months. That may be too short, but I think, you know, the California judicial system is so slow and I think six months is just an outrage.

It really limits the number of jurors and the kind of people who can serve on a jury, and it really does no service to anyone.

COLLINS: All right, so, we've got six more months to talk about it. Possibly.

TOOBIN: Possibly.

COLLINS: Right.

TOOBIN: Frightening thought.

COLLINS: Jeff Toobin, thanks so much this morning.

TOOBIN: OK.

HEMMER: Lot of nature news to talk about this morning, Heidi.

Firefighters in southwestern Florida still battling a 1,300-acre blaze there battling heavy smoke and ash. Several dozen firefighters made progress yesterday against that blaze now 70 percent contained.

They hope to finish off the blaze by the end of today. Scattered rainfall has helped put out some of that fire in Florida.

From West Virginia heavy rain causing widespread flooding, forcing residents out of their homes prompting a state of emergency in some counties. At least one death has been reported as the storms that tore through the Midwest continued on their way eastward.

Now cleanup continues in the nation's midsection, about 175 tornadoes, 175 tornadoes, hit the Midwest from Texas to the Great Lakes over the weekend causing widespread damage. At least eight deaths attributed to those storms.

In Conway Springs, Kansas south of Wichita, residents tried to pick up what's left of their homes after a tornado ripped through that area. Denise Keslan (ph) of our affiliate KAKE is reporting there this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DENISE KESLAN (ph), KAKE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a roller coaster ride for residents after storms wreaked havoc on their lives.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I started praying. KESLAN: Fourteen people were crammed into Marlene Barkley's (ph) closet, children crouched and crying, waiting and wondering about what was happening above.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we -- we felt the pressure. It kind of took your breath away.

KESLAN: In a matter of minutes, it was all over. The house damaged but still standing. Not the same story next door.

ANITA PAULEY, STORM VICTIM: My husband's brother-in-law came down and said you need to go; you guys lost everything.

I thought he was joking at first, you know. And he says no, really, you've lost everything.

KESLAN: Anita Pauley and her husband left just minutes before the twister tore though. They left a candle burning in the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later they came home, the candle still burning but everything else was gone.

PAULEY: This was our house.

KESLAN: Tears?

PAULEY: Oh yes, I cried a lot yesterday.

KESLAN: But an unusual story brings a smile to their face. A bag of sugar once sat in Anita's kitchen cabinet. It was blown next door, right through the kitchen window.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unscathed. It was like you went to Dylan's (ph) and picked it up off the shelf.

KESLAN: As families picked up, emergency crews continue to carve their way through cleanup. In Sumner County an estimated 15 miles of cable needed to get customers reconnected, 110 poles broken, bent or bottomed out.

One thing that seemed to stay strong throughout, the spirit of the storm victims.

KESLAN: I know the prayer that got us through it all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Denise Keslan of affiliate KAKE reporting in Conway Spring, Kansas. What a week it has been there for those people so far and the week is not over.

COLLINS: Just unbelievable and it is only Tuesday.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Seven fifteen now, and want to let you know what's happening in other news today.

There are reportedly more cases of prisoner abuse by American forces.

According to "The Washington Post," the Army has opened investigations into at least 91 cases of possible misconduct by U.S. soldiers against detainees and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The report points to a broader range of wrongful behavior. Then Defense Department officials have so far acknowledged including allegations of stealing money, jewelry and other property.

Hundreds of people riding in Karachi, Pakistan crowds of Shiite Muslims burning down shops and blocking highways.

Police say at least three people were killed in the clashes. The violent demonstration follows yesterdays bombing of a mosque. The attack left at least 20 people dead. No claim of responsibility for the blast yet. The funerals are taking place today for the bombing victims.

In Washington State, three people are recovering from injuries after being hit by a freight train. A spokesperson says the group was crossing a bridge when the Portland-bound train rolled down the tracks.

Two other people, including a 12-year-old child, were killed from the accident. Union Pacific, which owns the train, says it will investigate.

To sports now. The L.A. Lakers moving on to the NBA finals. They beat the Minnesota Timberwolves last night. Final score 96-90.

Game Six of the Western Conference finals, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant scored a combined 45 points for the Lakers. The championship round starts on Sunday.

And a double surprise for Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts. Magazine reports say the "Pretty Woman" star is pregnant with twins. A lot of that going on these days. They apparently run in her family, in fact. Roberts is 36. She married cameraman Daniel Moder nearly two years ago. The twins will be the first children for the Roberts.

HEMMER: You read that Lakers story with such vigor and enthusiasm.

COLLINS: Little dull, wasn't it?

HEMMER: They are a tough, tough team. T-wolves had a great season. Congratulations to them, all right?

COLLINS: Yes, right.

HEMMER: In the meantime, want to get you up to Seattle on this Memorial Day yesterday. About 100 passengers in the city's famed monorail had to be evacuated after that train caught fire. It was not the Memorial Day so many had planned and this day certainly was full of tension.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kind of thought that we might be jumping out at some point.

HEMMER: Dozens were waiting near open doors and windows as the monorail cars quickly filled with smoke. Some passengers tried to calm the others while everyone stayed as low as possible.

Firefighters frantically worked to reach people trapped above, while trying to keep the smoky fire from spreading.

As firemen climbed ladders to reach passengers, the first concern small children in a number of the cars.

The first to come out, a mother and her young son who carefully came down the ladder together. Safely on the ground, the shaken mom described how quickly it happened.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a pop and then we started seeing smoke.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like a really smoking -- smoke. It was really bad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was anybody (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, it was just like -- I got like a rush headache kind of when it came and everybody was kind of -- kind of ducked down and covered their heads basically.

HEMMER: Firefighters worked from car to car bringing everyone down. The smallest passengers getting the most attention and then reunions with worried parents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were some people around that were not too very calm. They had little kids, and I could understand they wanted to get their children off, so their kids were very, very excited and there was a lot of screaming.

HEMMER: More than 40 were treated at the scene, some suffering smoke inhalation. Nine patients were taken to hospitals. For most, some oxygen and a chance to call home was all they needed.

The fire in the blue train was the first serious blaze in the monorail's history and as the smoke cleared, some firefighters started looking for the cause in the burnt car while other rescuers had a different job.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Want that?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: The cause of that fire still under investigation. The Seattle Monorail originally built for the 1962 World's Fair.

COLLINS: Time now for the Cafferty File and the "Question of the Day" from Mr. Jack.

CAFFERTY: Morning Heidi, thank you.

President Bush making another push for legislation that would give federal funds to religious groups.

Community leaders actually going to meet at the White House today at a conference to discuss the so-called Faith Based Initiatives. Remember those? Which have been stalled in Congress.

The goal is for groups who serve the needy to compete for federal money. The proponents say the government will end up just paying for religion. They worry the taxpayers money will go to groups who hire and fire based on religion.

The question we're proposing is this one: should religious groups get government money? When you think about the efficiency with which the government does anything, then maybe you set this argument about separation of church and state aside.

Look at the sciences and the bureaucracies in the federal government that are designed to help the needy, whether it's the welfare program -- any of them.

I mean, we got out of every dollar that they spend, I don't know how much of it goes to support the bureaucracy, but my sense is it's probably a lot more than the dollars that are given to church groups that feed the hungry and provide shelter to abused women, etc., etc.

So my hunch is if you want to get a bigger bang for the taxpayer's dollar, let the church's handle it. On the other hand, you got the purists who say well we can't have government getting involved in religion and yadda, yadda, yadda.

HEMMER: And it's an election year, too.

Thank you Jack.

CAFFERTY: You're most welcome.

HEMMER: All right, you got it. Just about a month away now. Less than a month, for the transfer of power in Iraq. In a moment as the violence continues is Iraq ready to govern itself? A live report from the Pentagon in a moment about what's happening there.

COLLINS: Plus, the presidential campaign gets down and dirty but is one candidate really making low blow history? We'll take a look at political pop.

HEMMER: Also a painful reminder of the power of cheese. We'll explain in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HEMMER: Another jump in oil prices. This coming off the story of Saudi Arabia. Over the weekend. Andy Serwer back from a long weekend, "Minding Your Business" back here with us. Welcome back number one.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Thank you, good to see you guys.

HEMMER: This story out of eastern province of Saudi Arabia is just devastating over the weekend.

SERWER: It is for a variety of reasons, of course, and when it comes to oil just when it looked like we were going to get some relief in terms of prices because of more production coming on stream, now this terrorist attack in Kobar on Saturday leaving 22 foreigners dead, jitters throughout the oil industry and it's sending oil prices much higher this morning.

That of course is not only not good for the oil market it's not good for stocks and we'll be following that.

A quarter -- there you go -- this is what we've got this morning up $1.62 to $41.50 -- still below the all time high of $41.89 but bad enough. A quarter of the world's oil production is in Saudi Arabia. Twenty-five thousand Americans or so work there.

Orinoco, which is the large Saudi national oil company, says 99 percent of its managers are Saudis, so its should not disrupt production over there. And it's interesting that al Qaeda seems to be targeting people and not pipelines because if they did that there would be a whole other strategy.

HEMMER: How about the story about how some of these terrorists, apparently, got away? Apparently they were allowed just to leave after they had threatened to kill more.

SERWER: Right.

HEMMER: Last week -- quickly -- we have time for the markets? Pretty good week overall.

SERWER: We did have a good week and we were up about two percent on the major indexes there so but futures this morning are looking very soft.

HEMMER: Good to have you back, though.

SERWER: Nice to see you, Bill.

COLLINS: Well, it's a cheese-chasing event that does not involve mice but men. In Britain competitors took part in an ancient 200- year-old cheese-rolling event. You may have seen some of this before.

The group goes down a hill in hot pursuit of a block of cheese. One man joked that more people get hurt here than the running of the bulls in Madrid. Somehow, I am not actually surprised about that. Look at him.

SERWER: It's a cheese head. Sorry, Wisconsin.

HEMMER: All right, the pieces starting to fall into place for that Iraqi transfer of power. Learning more names earlier today we'll explain what we are learning in a moment.

Also it's Tuesday, time for "Political Pop" again this week. Which presidential candidate stretching the truth? Or is it both of them?

What's up at Air America and who is the better bike rider? The senator or the president? All ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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