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CNN Live At Daybreak
March to Najaf; Crisis in Iraq; Wiretapped Calls; Game Time
Aired August 26, 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: From a march for peace to dodging bullets, Iraq arrives at a crossroads this morning.
It is Thursday, August 26. This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
"Now in the News."
A bloody morning in the Iraqi town of Kufa, a mortar attack on a mosque in the Najaf suburb kills 25 peace demonstrators and wounds 60. It is unclear who fired those mortar rounds. When the demonstrators began marching from Kufa to Najaf, snipers opened fire from nearby buildings. Several marchers were wounded and taken away in ambulances. Some of the marchers turned back to Kufa.
Today's hearing in the Guantanamo Bay military tribunal is for a Yemeni man accused of being a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden. Yesterday, Australian David Hicks, accused of fighting for the Taliban, plead not guilty to conspiracy charges.
And a typhoon has hit Mainland China where nearly a million people had been evacuated from low-lying coastal areas. The typhoon leaves 34 people dead in its wake, 15 of them in a landslide in Taiwan -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Showed you that storm yesterday. It went right over the top of Taiwan, over the very tippy tip top and then back down into Mainland China right along the coast. So, really, it's killed itself now, now that the storm is on shore. I can show it to you later if you really want to see it, though. I can call up that old satellite.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: All right, thank you -- Chad.
MYERS: You bet.
COSTELLO: Want to talk about the situation in Iraq now, because it is a potentially important day for the people in Najaf. A big march began there this morning at the request of al-Sistani.
Eli Flournoy is here to explain more about what exactly is happening. I want to take viewers from beginning to end. When did this march start and when did the call come out?
ELI FLOURNOY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Well the call came out yesterday from Sistani, if you remember, returned from London where he had surgery, and he came back arriving in Basra. He started his move from Basra heading towards Najaf about five-and-a-half hours ago or so. He's on the -- you can see his convoy there making its way. It's expected to take him anywhere from 5 to 10 hours to get to Najaf.
COSTELLO: So, people are coming from all parts of Iraq to converge on Najaf. And just to explain who Sistani is, he is a moderate cleric, but he is very powerful. He is over Muqtada al-Sadr, this radical cleric that's been making trouble in Najaf.
FLOURNOY: Absolutely. Sistani is the Grand Ayatollah. He is one of only five Grand Ayatollahs right now. He's a Shiite cleric. Arguably the most revered holy person for Shiites in Iraq. So, he is -- yes, he is at a very elevated level.
Muqtada al-Sadr, on the other hand, he gains much of his credibility from his father, who was a Grand Ayatollah. However, he himself has not gone that far in his religious training, is much, much younger. Of course Sistani is 73 years old.
So, we've got the march that starts, Sistani called for the march yesterday, asked for people to head to Najaf in a peaceful demonstration, essentially to take over Najaf and force militants, both the al-Sadr militants and the U.S. and Iraqi forces to back off out of Iraq.
And as a matter of fact, we just got in a statement from Najaf's governor who says that there is a cease-fire agreement for when Sistani arrives in Najaf for all parties to maintain their positions and to stay back out of Najaf and for there to be a 24-hour cease-fire so that negotiations can move forward from there.
COSTELLO: It will take a while for Sistani to get there, because he is on a six-hour trip there. But the marchers had gathered in Kufa, which is not very far from Najaf, and violence broke out. There somebody opened fire on a mosque in Kufa killing 25 people.
FLOURNOY: Exactly. And what's happening there is in Kufa, which is right next to Najaf, as you said, a suburb of Najaf, there's a very important mosque there. So, people following the call from Sistani to gather and march to Najaf, they gathered at this mosque in Kufa to come together and then with the plan to march to Najaf from there.
Now while they were gathered there, mortar rounds came in, hit the mosque there, many people were killed. Then those marchers started their march to Najaf. And on their way to Najaf, snipers opened up from buildings around them and a number of people were wounded there, as well.
And we're still getting details about what exactly happened there. So, and it's not clear at all who opened fire in the snipers. We also don't know, as you said, who fired the mortars on the mosque though.
COSTELLO: We do have a producer in Kufa right now, Kianne Sadeq. She's on the phone right now.
FLOURNOY: Right.
COSTELLO: Kianne, can you hear us?
KIANNE SADEQ, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, I can.
COSTELLO: What is happening now in Kufa?
SADEQ: Well, Carol, at this time the demonstrators, who were attempting to walk over from Kufa to the old city in Najaf and then to the Imam Ali shrine, where have actually stopped in the streets after they were fired at by sniper fire.
I cannot confirm who was firing the sniper fire, but the crowd believed that it was the Iraqi forces firing on them. And they are now standing in the streets, in the middle of the streets and say they will not move until they have a word from the Grand Ayatollah al- Sistani on what to do next.
For the time being, they seem to be adamant about staying in their position in the streets on this one road, which leads the people from Kufa to Najaf.
COSTELLO: And it would be difficult for them to get word from al-Sistani because he's in a car traveling towards Najaf right now. And he's still, what, about six hours away.
SADEQ: This is correct, Carol. They are waiting for him to arrive. Their original intention was to gather in Kufa and begin this march and welcome say its (ph) Sistani upon his arrival. So, these people are now waiting for him to arrive and they are expecting him to arrive any minute. So, they seem to be staying in their positions in the streets until he comes to them or until they get any word from their deputies.
COSTELLO: Tell us why this march is so important to Najaf.
SADEQ: This march is supposed to be a peaceful march. And it is important to the people because they have made this into a peaceful march. None of the marchers were armed in any way, shape or form. And to them it's important because they believe that they have been asked by the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to gather here and to march in order to have a peaceful march and which will allow them to walk straight into the old city and into the Imam Ali shrine which will peacefully bring this crisis to an end.
But they really want the situation to end. And so, this is an attempt for a large group of people, thousands of people, to gather, unarmed, to make clear the point that they are doing this for peaceful purposes and to market through that area in order for them to be able to enter the area of the old city of Najaf and make their way to the Imam Ali shrine. COSTELLO: Kianne, I was just wondering, Eli and I were both wondering, actually, what kind of security personnel do you see around those people, any?
SADEQ: I don't, as a matter of fact, Carol. We have not seen any sort of security personnel. I have not seen any sort of security personnel in the area. The people believe that on the roofs of the buildings and in the buildings are the Iraqi National Guard and Iraqi police who are stopping them.
We see police patrol, police vehicles driving past the area, and ambulances as well, who have been coming over to take the wounded people away. But we have seen Iraqi National Guards as well as -- excuse me, I'm sorry, we have not -- I have not seen any of them. We have only seen police patrols going by the scene, driving by the scene. But as for the area where they are standing, there doesn't seem to be anybody there.
COSTELLO: Kianne Sadeq, reporting live from Kufa in Iraq right near Najaf, thank you very much. We'll get back to you. And Eli, thanks to you, as well.
Are you pounding the pavement, from healthcare to hospitality, we'll tell you where the hot jobs are in the next hour of DAYBREAK, which gets us to our e-mail "Question of the Day." What makes a job attractive to you? We want your e-mails. Is it the pay? Is it the health insurance? Other benefits?
Here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: And welcome back to DAYBREAK. It is 5:43 Eastern Time.
A string of lies, prosecutors say that's what Scott Peterson told family and friends in wiretapped calls after his pregnant wife went missing.
More now from CNN's Ted Rowlands in Redwood City, California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Modesto's lead wiretap investigator, Steve Jacobson, spent the entire day on the witness stand playing dozens of recorded phone calls, documenting more lies from Scott Peterson.
Jacobson testified Peterson was in Berkeley the day investigators recovered what they thought was a body from San Francisco Bay. It turned out to be an anchor. Peterson tells a number of people he's in Bakersfield, including his mother, his father, and his missing wife's mother, Sharon Rocha.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
SCOTT PETERSON (on phone): Well, I'm actually down in Bakersfield.
SHARON ROCHA, LACI PETERSON'S MOTHER (on phone): Oh, are you? OK.
S. PETERSON: Yes, I had to finish up some work stuff here today, and I'm...
ROCHA: OK, OK.
S. PETERSON: ... we're just getting done -- gonna pass out flyers on my way home, so...
ROCHA: OK.
S. PETERSON: ... I won't be home until five or so.
ROCHA: OK.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: A number of the calls revolved around a possible sighting of Laci Peterson in Longview, Washington. Friends and family were calling Peterson about the tip, and he tells them that he's been talking to police there. Jacobson testified at the time there was no record of any calls from Peterson to police in Washington State.
Here, he appears to be lying to his mother about it.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JACKIE PETERSON, SCOTT PETERSON'S MOTHER (on phone): Why don't you hop on a plane?
S. PETERSON (on phone): Well, I'll definitely -- you know, I called up there and talked to one of them.
J. PETERSON: Oh, good for you. Good for you.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: Eventually, Peterson did call Longview Police.
Jacobson also played a recorded conversation between Peterson and Brian Argain, a friend and local real estate agent, about selling he and Laci's Modesto home. This call was recorded less than a month after Laci Peterson was reported missing.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
S. PETERSON (on phone): Kinda keep it quiet, all right?
BRIAN ARGAIN (on phone): Oh, I will. I'm not going to say a word to anybody, don't worry about that.
S. PETERSON: Can I sell it furnished?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ROWLANDS (on camera): During cross-examination, investigator Jacobson admitted that during the 3,000 plus calls they listened in on, Peterson never made any admissions or confessions. He is expected to be back on the stand when court resumes.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Redwood City, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:46 Eastern Time. Here is what's all new this morning.
The march to Najaf is on. Iraq's Shiite spiritual leader, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, is heading to Najaf. His slow-moving convoy is packed with thousands of Shiite faithful. You're looking at pictures. Actually, these pictures are live just in to CNN. It's not clear what the Ayatollah will do when he finally arrives in the holy city. That will be hours from now.
Actor Danny Glover weighs in on the humanitarian crisis in Sudan's Darfur region. He faces disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly after being arrested on the steps of Sudan's Embassy in Washington.
In money news, Bill Gates puts his money where his mouth is. He has given $400,000 to a campaign behind California's Proposition 71. Prop 71 would make $3 billion available for stem cell research and cloning projects.
Psychiatrist and writer Elisabeth Kubler-Ross has died in Scottsdale, Arizona. Her book on death and dying reported that people go through five stages of grief. She identified them as denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Her son said she had been in acceptance stage for some time. In an interview a couple of years ago, she said I told God last night he's a damn procrastinator. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross was 78 years old.
In sports, crazier by the day, so says retired running back Ricky Williams who says he's not rejoining the Miami Dolphins and is off to India for a bit. No word on more than $8 million Miami wants back from him -- Chad.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: You're not kidding. Thank you, Chad.
Those are the latest headlines for you.
"Health Headlines" for you this morning, too. This one might surprise you. Giving breast milk to very small newborns instead of formula does not necessarily help their neurological development. Doctors at Case Western Reserve in Ohio found no significant differences in the development of babies born at very low birth weights. The children were evaluated at the age of 20 months.
If you're one of the millions of people taking Vioxx to control pain, you may want to double-check your dosage with your doctor. A new study finds the arthritis medicine can increase your risk for sudden heart attacks when taken at higher doses.
Your mother was right, sit up straight. A new study finds hours of sitting in a slumped position can do major damage to your back. Doctors say back muscles and excessive couch potatoes or computer users simply waste away from inactivity. That leaves you at risk for severe lower back pain.
If you have any questions about health-related stories, e-mail to them -- e-mail them to us. We'll have our medical correspondent Holly Firfer get you some answers -- daybreak@cnn.com if you have any health-related questions e-mail us.
The Census Bureau will release its report today on how many of you don't have health insurance. This year the report will be combined with poverty and income levels. The Brookings Institution says the high cost of health insurance are key reasons some companies give for not providing health insurance to employees.
That brings us to our e-mail question, what's important to you when you're looking for a job: medical benefits, company perks or long-term investing? And we've gotten some e-mails already in this morning, and we appreciate it.
This is from Cole (ph) from Minnesota. He says, "I'll chase whatever job pays the highest wage. If you can't afford to live now, who cares about a 401(k) plan?"
This is from Rose (ph) -- actually, this is from Connie (ph) from Atlanta. She says, "I work six days a week for $7 an hour. I have two chronic health conditions that I can't afford to get treatment for. Healthcare would be the most important thing to me."
This is from Puma (ph): "In this day and age of outsourcing and downsizing, what's attractive to me is just finding a job that's good in the good ol' USA."
Keep the e-mails coming, daybreak@cnn.com.
Coming up next, after a disappointing showing in the final round, a former gold medalist calls it quits. More on this story in a live report.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Openers," and we do mean eye opener. Check out some faces only a mom could love. In New Jersey's Atlantic City, it's Ripley's Strangest Face on the Boardwalk competition. This is the eighth year Ripley's has held such a competition. Cute.
Ever wonder what the war in Iraq is costing you? If you are in New York's Times Square, all you have to do is look up. A new electronic sign has begun flashing the cost. The liberal think tank that put up the clock says the cost of the war is growing at a rate of $177 million a day.
Take a look at this wooden crate. It was used by a Cuban woman to get into the United States. She had herself nailed inside and shipped from the Bahamas to Miami on a cargo plane on a one-hour flight Tuesday. She is being allowed to stay in the United States.
It is a big day for the U.S. women's soccer and men's basketball teams at the Olympics. So, let's head live to Athens and Larry Smith.
Good morning -- Larry.
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
You know what a way to end the careers of five of the greatest soccer players in the history of U.S. soccer. Tonight they go for gold versus Brazil. Those five ladies, Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Brandy Chastain, Kristine Lilly and Joy Fawcett, they all have won a World Cup, Olympic gold in 1996 and silver in 2000.
Tonight, the ladies try to go out as champions again. By the way, Foudy is a question mark for the game with a sprained ankle suffered earlier in these games.
USA men's basketball, you mentioned the dream team, Olympic champions all but twice. But today it's a first, an underdog in a quarterfinal game. USA tips off versus Spain in about 90 minutes. The loser, by the way, knocked out of medal contention.
Later it's a story of Justin Gatlin. All track and field events are under the lights. The evening's finale will be the men's 200- meter final. Justin Gatlin trying to become just the ninth man ever to strike gold in the 100-meter and the 200-meter races in the same Olympics.
And Rulon Gardner has called it a career. The Greco-Roman wrestler won bronze last night to go with the gold medal that he won in Sydney four years ago. And then, he left his shoes on the mat in a tearful gesture of retirement. Rulon Gardner, gold, one of the heroes of the Sydney Games taking bronze here and now he says he is done.
That's the story from now from Athens. Carol, let's go back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Larry.
We'll talk more about the 2004 Summer Games, including track and field phenom Marion Jones.
But first, a deadly mortar attack on a mosque in the Iraqi city of Kufa as a top Shiite cleric leads a convoy of peace to Najaf.
This is DAYBREAK for Thursday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: In Iraq, at least 25 dead this morning and dozens wounded near a mosque while hundreds of Iraqis are on their way to a peace rally.
It is Thursday, August 26. This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you, from the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
"Now in the News."
A deadly attack in Iraq this morning during what was supposed to be a peace rally. At least 25 are dead, dozens more hurt after mortars or rockets hit a mosque in Kufa. People had gathered there to protest the fighting in nearby Najaf. It is not clear who fired those mortars.
And there have been more attacks this morning on Iraqi peace demonstrators. Snipers opened fire on them as they marched from Kufa to Najaf. Several are hurt here as well.
At Guantanamo Bay, prosecutors say he was once a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden. A Yemeni man is facing a pretrial hearing today. He'll be the third terror suspect arraigned there this week.
Back in the States, 4 homes burned, 350 others threatened, that's what firefighters are facing south of Reno, Nevada, as they battle a fast-moving wildfire. Officials say a man who was target shooting sparked the blaze -- Chad.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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Aired August 26, 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: From a march for peace to dodging bullets, Iraq arrives at a crossroads this morning.
It is Thursday, August 26. This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
"Now in the News."
A bloody morning in the Iraqi town of Kufa, a mortar attack on a mosque in the Najaf suburb kills 25 peace demonstrators and wounds 60. It is unclear who fired those mortar rounds. When the demonstrators began marching from Kufa to Najaf, snipers opened fire from nearby buildings. Several marchers were wounded and taken away in ambulances. Some of the marchers turned back to Kufa.
Today's hearing in the Guantanamo Bay military tribunal is for a Yemeni man accused of being a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden. Yesterday, Australian David Hicks, accused of fighting for the Taliban, plead not guilty to conspiracy charges.
And a typhoon has hit Mainland China where nearly a million people had been evacuated from low-lying coastal areas. The typhoon leaves 34 people dead in its wake, 15 of them in a landslide in Taiwan -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Showed you that storm yesterday. It went right over the top of Taiwan, over the very tippy tip top and then back down into Mainland China right along the coast. So, really, it's killed itself now, now that the storm is on shore. I can show it to you later if you really want to see it, though. I can call up that old satellite.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: All right, thank you -- Chad.
MYERS: You bet.
COSTELLO: Want to talk about the situation in Iraq now, because it is a potentially important day for the people in Najaf. A big march began there this morning at the request of al-Sistani.
Eli Flournoy is here to explain more about what exactly is happening. I want to take viewers from beginning to end. When did this march start and when did the call come out?
ELI FLOURNOY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Well the call came out yesterday from Sistani, if you remember, returned from London where he had surgery, and he came back arriving in Basra. He started his move from Basra heading towards Najaf about five-and-a-half hours ago or so. He's on the -- you can see his convoy there making its way. It's expected to take him anywhere from 5 to 10 hours to get to Najaf.
COSTELLO: So, people are coming from all parts of Iraq to converge on Najaf. And just to explain who Sistani is, he is a moderate cleric, but he is very powerful. He is over Muqtada al-Sadr, this radical cleric that's been making trouble in Najaf.
FLOURNOY: Absolutely. Sistani is the Grand Ayatollah. He is one of only five Grand Ayatollahs right now. He's a Shiite cleric. Arguably the most revered holy person for Shiites in Iraq. So, he is -- yes, he is at a very elevated level.
Muqtada al-Sadr, on the other hand, he gains much of his credibility from his father, who was a Grand Ayatollah. However, he himself has not gone that far in his religious training, is much, much younger. Of course Sistani is 73 years old.
So, we've got the march that starts, Sistani called for the march yesterday, asked for people to head to Najaf in a peaceful demonstration, essentially to take over Najaf and force militants, both the al-Sadr militants and the U.S. and Iraqi forces to back off out of Iraq.
And as a matter of fact, we just got in a statement from Najaf's governor who says that there is a cease-fire agreement for when Sistani arrives in Najaf for all parties to maintain their positions and to stay back out of Najaf and for there to be a 24-hour cease-fire so that negotiations can move forward from there.
COSTELLO: It will take a while for Sistani to get there, because he is on a six-hour trip there. But the marchers had gathered in Kufa, which is not very far from Najaf, and violence broke out. There somebody opened fire on a mosque in Kufa killing 25 people.
FLOURNOY: Exactly. And what's happening there is in Kufa, which is right next to Najaf, as you said, a suburb of Najaf, there's a very important mosque there. So, people following the call from Sistani to gather and march to Najaf, they gathered at this mosque in Kufa to come together and then with the plan to march to Najaf from there.
Now while they were gathered there, mortar rounds came in, hit the mosque there, many people were killed. Then those marchers started their march to Najaf. And on their way to Najaf, snipers opened up from buildings around them and a number of people were wounded there, as well.
And we're still getting details about what exactly happened there. So, and it's not clear at all who opened fire in the snipers. We also don't know, as you said, who fired the mortars on the mosque though.
COSTELLO: We do have a producer in Kufa right now, Kianne Sadeq. She's on the phone right now.
FLOURNOY: Right.
COSTELLO: Kianne, can you hear us?
KIANNE SADEQ, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, I can.
COSTELLO: What is happening now in Kufa?
SADEQ: Well, Carol, at this time the demonstrators, who were attempting to walk over from Kufa to the old city in Najaf and then to the Imam Ali shrine, where have actually stopped in the streets after they were fired at by sniper fire.
I cannot confirm who was firing the sniper fire, but the crowd believed that it was the Iraqi forces firing on them. And they are now standing in the streets, in the middle of the streets and say they will not move until they have a word from the Grand Ayatollah al- Sistani on what to do next.
For the time being, they seem to be adamant about staying in their position in the streets on this one road, which leads the people from Kufa to Najaf.
COSTELLO: And it would be difficult for them to get word from al-Sistani because he's in a car traveling towards Najaf right now. And he's still, what, about six hours away.
SADEQ: This is correct, Carol. They are waiting for him to arrive. Their original intention was to gather in Kufa and begin this march and welcome say its (ph) Sistani upon his arrival. So, these people are now waiting for him to arrive and they are expecting him to arrive any minute. So, they seem to be staying in their positions in the streets until he comes to them or until they get any word from their deputies.
COSTELLO: Tell us why this march is so important to Najaf.
SADEQ: This march is supposed to be a peaceful march. And it is important to the people because they have made this into a peaceful march. None of the marchers were armed in any way, shape or form. And to them it's important because they believe that they have been asked by the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to gather here and to march in order to have a peaceful march and which will allow them to walk straight into the old city and into the Imam Ali shrine which will peacefully bring this crisis to an end.
But they really want the situation to end. And so, this is an attempt for a large group of people, thousands of people, to gather, unarmed, to make clear the point that they are doing this for peaceful purposes and to market through that area in order for them to be able to enter the area of the old city of Najaf and make their way to the Imam Ali shrine. COSTELLO: Kianne, I was just wondering, Eli and I were both wondering, actually, what kind of security personnel do you see around those people, any?
SADEQ: I don't, as a matter of fact, Carol. We have not seen any sort of security personnel. I have not seen any sort of security personnel in the area. The people believe that on the roofs of the buildings and in the buildings are the Iraqi National Guard and Iraqi police who are stopping them.
We see police patrol, police vehicles driving past the area, and ambulances as well, who have been coming over to take the wounded people away. But we have seen Iraqi National Guards as well as -- excuse me, I'm sorry, we have not -- I have not seen any of them. We have only seen police patrols going by the scene, driving by the scene. But as for the area where they are standing, there doesn't seem to be anybody there.
COSTELLO: Kianne Sadeq, reporting live from Kufa in Iraq right near Najaf, thank you very much. We'll get back to you. And Eli, thanks to you, as well.
Are you pounding the pavement, from healthcare to hospitality, we'll tell you where the hot jobs are in the next hour of DAYBREAK, which gets us to our e-mail "Question of the Day." What makes a job attractive to you? We want your e-mails. Is it the pay? Is it the health insurance? Other benefits?
Here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: And welcome back to DAYBREAK. It is 5:43 Eastern Time.
A string of lies, prosecutors say that's what Scott Peterson told family and friends in wiretapped calls after his pregnant wife went missing.
More now from CNN's Ted Rowlands in Redwood City, California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Modesto's lead wiretap investigator, Steve Jacobson, spent the entire day on the witness stand playing dozens of recorded phone calls, documenting more lies from Scott Peterson.
Jacobson testified Peterson was in Berkeley the day investigators recovered what they thought was a body from San Francisco Bay. It turned out to be an anchor. Peterson tells a number of people he's in Bakersfield, including his mother, his father, and his missing wife's mother, Sharon Rocha.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
SCOTT PETERSON (on phone): Well, I'm actually down in Bakersfield.
SHARON ROCHA, LACI PETERSON'S MOTHER (on phone): Oh, are you? OK.
S. PETERSON: Yes, I had to finish up some work stuff here today, and I'm...
ROCHA: OK, OK.
S. PETERSON: ... we're just getting done -- gonna pass out flyers on my way home, so...
ROCHA: OK.
S. PETERSON: ... I won't be home until five or so.
ROCHA: OK.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: A number of the calls revolved around a possible sighting of Laci Peterson in Longview, Washington. Friends and family were calling Peterson about the tip, and he tells them that he's been talking to police there. Jacobson testified at the time there was no record of any calls from Peterson to police in Washington State.
Here, he appears to be lying to his mother about it.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JACKIE PETERSON, SCOTT PETERSON'S MOTHER (on phone): Why don't you hop on a plane?
S. PETERSON (on phone): Well, I'll definitely -- you know, I called up there and talked to one of them.
J. PETERSON: Oh, good for you. Good for you.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: Eventually, Peterson did call Longview Police.
Jacobson also played a recorded conversation between Peterson and Brian Argain, a friend and local real estate agent, about selling he and Laci's Modesto home. This call was recorded less than a month after Laci Peterson was reported missing.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
S. PETERSON (on phone): Kinda keep it quiet, all right?
BRIAN ARGAIN (on phone): Oh, I will. I'm not going to say a word to anybody, don't worry about that.
S. PETERSON: Can I sell it furnished?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ROWLANDS (on camera): During cross-examination, investigator Jacobson admitted that during the 3,000 plus calls they listened in on, Peterson never made any admissions or confessions. He is expected to be back on the stand when court resumes.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Redwood City, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:46 Eastern Time. Here is what's all new this morning.
The march to Najaf is on. Iraq's Shiite spiritual leader, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, is heading to Najaf. His slow-moving convoy is packed with thousands of Shiite faithful. You're looking at pictures. Actually, these pictures are live just in to CNN. It's not clear what the Ayatollah will do when he finally arrives in the holy city. That will be hours from now.
Actor Danny Glover weighs in on the humanitarian crisis in Sudan's Darfur region. He faces disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly after being arrested on the steps of Sudan's Embassy in Washington.
In money news, Bill Gates puts his money where his mouth is. He has given $400,000 to a campaign behind California's Proposition 71. Prop 71 would make $3 billion available for stem cell research and cloning projects.
Psychiatrist and writer Elisabeth Kubler-Ross has died in Scottsdale, Arizona. Her book on death and dying reported that people go through five stages of grief. She identified them as denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Her son said she had been in acceptance stage for some time. In an interview a couple of years ago, she said I told God last night he's a damn procrastinator. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross was 78 years old.
In sports, crazier by the day, so says retired running back Ricky Williams who says he's not rejoining the Miami Dolphins and is off to India for a bit. No word on more than $8 million Miami wants back from him -- Chad.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: You're not kidding. Thank you, Chad.
Those are the latest headlines for you.
"Health Headlines" for you this morning, too. This one might surprise you. Giving breast milk to very small newborns instead of formula does not necessarily help their neurological development. Doctors at Case Western Reserve in Ohio found no significant differences in the development of babies born at very low birth weights. The children were evaluated at the age of 20 months.
If you're one of the millions of people taking Vioxx to control pain, you may want to double-check your dosage with your doctor. A new study finds the arthritis medicine can increase your risk for sudden heart attacks when taken at higher doses.
Your mother was right, sit up straight. A new study finds hours of sitting in a slumped position can do major damage to your back. Doctors say back muscles and excessive couch potatoes or computer users simply waste away from inactivity. That leaves you at risk for severe lower back pain.
If you have any questions about health-related stories, e-mail to them -- e-mail them to us. We'll have our medical correspondent Holly Firfer get you some answers -- daybreak@cnn.com if you have any health-related questions e-mail us.
The Census Bureau will release its report today on how many of you don't have health insurance. This year the report will be combined with poverty and income levels. The Brookings Institution says the high cost of health insurance are key reasons some companies give for not providing health insurance to employees.
That brings us to our e-mail question, what's important to you when you're looking for a job: medical benefits, company perks or long-term investing? And we've gotten some e-mails already in this morning, and we appreciate it.
This is from Cole (ph) from Minnesota. He says, "I'll chase whatever job pays the highest wage. If you can't afford to live now, who cares about a 401(k) plan?"
This is from Rose (ph) -- actually, this is from Connie (ph) from Atlanta. She says, "I work six days a week for $7 an hour. I have two chronic health conditions that I can't afford to get treatment for. Healthcare would be the most important thing to me."
This is from Puma (ph): "In this day and age of outsourcing and downsizing, what's attractive to me is just finding a job that's good in the good ol' USA."
Keep the e-mails coming, daybreak@cnn.com.
Coming up next, after a disappointing showing in the final round, a former gold medalist calls it quits. More on this story in a live report.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Openers," and we do mean eye opener. Check out some faces only a mom could love. In New Jersey's Atlantic City, it's Ripley's Strangest Face on the Boardwalk competition. This is the eighth year Ripley's has held such a competition. Cute.
Ever wonder what the war in Iraq is costing you? If you are in New York's Times Square, all you have to do is look up. A new electronic sign has begun flashing the cost. The liberal think tank that put up the clock says the cost of the war is growing at a rate of $177 million a day.
Take a look at this wooden crate. It was used by a Cuban woman to get into the United States. She had herself nailed inside and shipped from the Bahamas to Miami on a cargo plane on a one-hour flight Tuesday. She is being allowed to stay in the United States.
It is a big day for the U.S. women's soccer and men's basketball teams at the Olympics. So, let's head live to Athens and Larry Smith.
Good morning -- Larry.
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
You know what a way to end the careers of five of the greatest soccer players in the history of U.S. soccer. Tonight they go for gold versus Brazil. Those five ladies, Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Brandy Chastain, Kristine Lilly and Joy Fawcett, they all have won a World Cup, Olympic gold in 1996 and silver in 2000.
Tonight, the ladies try to go out as champions again. By the way, Foudy is a question mark for the game with a sprained ankle suffered earlier in these games.
USA men's basketball, you mentioned the dream team, Olympic champions all but twice. But today it's a first, an underdog in a quarterfinal game. USA tips off versus Spain in about 90 minutes. The loser, by the way, knocked out of medal contention.
Later it's a story of Justin Gatlin. All track and field events are under the lights. The evening's finale will be the men's 200- meter final. Justin Gatlin trying to become just the ninth man ever to strike gold in the 100-meter and the 200-meter races in the same Olympics.
And Rulon Gardner has called it a career. The Greco-Roman wrestler won bronze last night to go with the gold medal that he won in Sydney four years ago. And then, he left his shoes on the mat in a tearful gesture of retirement. Rulon Gardner, gold, one of the heroes of the Sydney Games taking bronze here and now he says he is done.
That's the story from now from Athens. Carol, let's go back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Larry.
We'll talk more about the 2004 Summer Games, including track and field phenom Marion Jones.
But first, a deadly mortar attack on a mosque in the Iraqi city of Kufa as a top Shiite cleric leads a convoy of peace to Najaf.
This is DAYBREAK for Thursday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: In Iraq, at least 25 dead this morning and dozens wounded near a mosque while hundreds of Iraqis are on their way to a peace rally.
It is Thursday, August 26. This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you, from the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
"Now in the News."
A deadly attack in Iraq this morning during what was supposed to be a peace rally. At least 25 are dead, dozens more hurt after mortars or rockets hit a mosque in Kufa. People had gathered there to protest the fighting in nearby Najaf. It is not clear who fired those mortars.
And there have been more attacks this morning on Iraqi peace demonstrators. Snipers opened fire on them as they marched from Kufa to Najaf. Several are hurt here as well.
At Guantanamo Bay, prosecutors say he was once a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden. A Yemeni man is facing a pretrial hearing today. He'll be the third terror suspect arraigned there this week.
Back in the States, 4 homes burned, 350 others threatened, that's what firefighters are facing south of Reno, Nevada, as they battle a fast-moving wildfire. Officials say a man who was target shooting sparked the blaze -- Chad.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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