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CNN Live At Daybreak
High Cost of Republican National Convention; Latest Developments in Attempts to Stop Fighting in Najaf
Aired August 27, 2004 - 05:00 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: For the first time in three weeks, a truce in Iraq's Najaf. But will it hold?
It is Friday, August 27.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news, a deadline met in Najaf just about three hours ago. Militia loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr meet a deadline to turn in their weapons. A mosque that is one of the Shiites -- one of Shiites' holiest shrines -- has been the focus of intense fighting the last three weeks. We'll go live to Iraq after the half hour.
Within the last hour, Russia's top security service says it has found traces of explosives in the wreckage of at least one of two Russian passenger jets that crashed Tuesday. Eighty-nine people were killed in the near simultaneous crashes.
Jury selection in the sexual assault trial of NBA star Kobe Bryant gets under way today in Eagle County. About 500 prospective jurors are expected to fill out questionnaires.
The White House is taking steps to implement some of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Senior administration officials tell CNN that among those steps, the drafting of executive orders establishing a national intelligence director's post -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: We begin this hour with politics. And the weekend before the start of the Republican national convention, Democrat John Kerry is stumping out West. Yesterday in Minnesota, he called for weekly debates with President Bush until election day. Senator Kerry has a town hall meeting this morning in Daly City, California, and then a fundraiser in San Francisco. He'll spend the weekend in Washington State, with stops scheduled at Everett, Seattle and Tacoma.
President Bush, who campaigned in New Mexico, heads for Florida today. It's part of an eight state tour that'll end next week at the Republican convention in New York. Bush will be joined in Miami today by Senator Zel Miller, a Democrat from Georgia who will be the keynote speaker at the Republican convention.
National conventions do not come cheap, especially in New York City. But you may be surprised at how much private donors are willing to spend for next week's GOP party.
Here's CNN's Allan Chernoff.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The proposed budget for the Republican national convention is $64 million, excluding security. But the final price tag may be even higher. The New York host committee's fundraiser say they've collected about $70 million in private donations.
LEWIS EISENBERG, CO-CHAIR, NEW YORK CITY HOST COMMITTEE: This is New York City. Everything is better. And when you want the best, it usually costs a little more. This will be the best. It'll cost a little more.
CHERNOFF: It'll cost plenty just to accommodate reporters -- $4.5 million to renovate the city's main post office into a giant media work space; another $.75 million to build a temporary bridge across Eighth Avenue so reporters can have easy access to the convention on the other side of the street. And rental for Madison Square Garden? $5 million.
KEVIN SHEEKEY, PRESIDENT, NEW YORK CITY HOST COMMITTEE: It sounds like a lot, but we spent $15 million renovating the Garden. The entire lower section of the Garden has been taken out. It's been built up nine and a half feet. A new floor has been put in. I mean it's a really dynamic change that people are going to see in the Garden when the curtain is pulled back.
CHERNOFF: Madison Square Garden, home to basketball's New York Knicks and hockey's Rangers, is a contractor's delight this week. More than $2 million spent on electrical work, $2.5 million to construct the speaker's podium, $800,000 for decor and fabric coverings. The Republicans plan to put on a big show -- $5.5 million allocated for program and production costs. Then, there are parties and entertainment around town.
SHEEKEY: A welcome for delegates on Broadway, renting out Broadway shows, sending delegates to something that you can't recreate anywhere else in the country, another $1.5 million. And, as someone once said, a million here, a million there, it starts to add up.
CHERNOFF (on camera): It's not that the Democrats were chintzy in Boston, but the Republicans clearly have more elaborate plans. And in New York, the GOP is proving that throwing a grand old party can run up a tab approaching $70 million.
Allan Chernoff, CNN Financial News, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: A statistical dead heat in the race for president. The latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, completed on Wednesday, gives President Bush a slight lead over Senator John Kerry among likely voters. Fifty percent of those surveyed prefer Bush for president; 47 percent chose Kerry. But the difference is within the 4 percentage point margin of error.
All next week during the convention, if you're away from your television and you're on satellite radio, or even regular radio, tune us in. CNN LIVE FROM anchor Kyra Phillips and I will be broadcasting live every night starting at 8:00 Eastern, that's in the p.m., on CNN Radio. We'll have complete coverage of everything going on in the Big Apple. That's on CNN Radio all next week, from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern.
In News Across America this morning, actress Susan Sarandon had a long correspondence with a Texas man put to death last night. Sarandon has been a long time opponent of the death penalty since her Oscar winning role in the movie "Dead Man Walking." She visited James Allridge last month in Houston. He was executed for killing a store clerk.
A Texas mother accused of abandoning her seven children in Nigeria has avoided a custody hearing. A lawyer for the adoptive mother agreed to let the kids stay in state care for now. The attorney says the woman did nothing wrong and hopes to eventually regain custody of the kids.
Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten is denied parole for a 15th time. Van Houghton is serving a life sentence for the brutal 1969 murder of actress Sharon Tate and seven others. No one convicted in those killings has ever been released.
At least two more soldiers are expected to be charged in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal. According to court testimony, Specialists Armin Cruz and Roman Krol directed the abuse.
CNN's Paula Zahn spoke with a former Army Reservist who says he saw Krol in action, but he doesn't know who was calling the shots.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNETH DAVIS, FORMER ARMY RESERVE M.P.: I'm not sure how the orders were made, but what I know is every time we would question something or question who was in charge, it was explicit. It was told to us military intelligence is in charge of this compound.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And who would you ask that of?
DAVIS: Either our lieutenants or our captain, anybody that would be in the chain of command. Even soldiers and sergeants would know that's who's in charge of this place, because they'd make it very evident.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: Krol adamantly denies the charges and says Davis is mistaken.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPEC. ROMAN KROL, MILITARY INTELLIGENCE: Military intelligence have their rules of engagement for interrogations and every interrogation that I did, I stayed within those boundaries. I never went out of boundaries during an interrogation. What happened here was obviously directed by M.P.s. I would assume that.
ZAHN: And, of course, the accusation by Ken Davis is that you and your colleague, Mr. Cruz, were directing the activities here.
KROL: He's wrong, of course.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Two reports on the scandal have been released this week. The so-called Fay Report cites 44 instances of abuse at the prison, some of which amounted to torture.
For the first time, President Bush is acknowledging he may have been mistaken about how things would play out after shrine was ousted. The president is quoted in the "New York Times" this morning as saying he made, and I'm quoting here, "a miscalculation of what the conditions would be after U.S. troops went into Iraq."
Still, Bush adds, and I'm quoting again, "We are adjusting to our conditions."
In Iraq's Najaf, a deadline has passed for the Mahdi militia to surrender their weapons. Najaf's old city has been the scene of some of most intense post-war fighting in Iraq.
Let's see if the deal brokered between two clerics is working this morning.
Let's head live to Baghdad now and Diana Muriel -- are militiamen laying down their arms?
DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, the deadline expired just over three hours ago. And by that time, we were told by our team on the ground in Najaf that it seemed that the majority of the Mahdi militia, these fighters loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr who had been holed up in the area around the Shrine of Imam Ali these past three weeks fighting U.S. forces and Iraqi forces, the majority of their weapons have been handed in. They were changing out of their black camouflage dress into civilian dress and they were merging with the throng of people who had responded to the call by the Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani on Thursday to come to Najaf to rescue the holy city.
These pilgrims have come to the shrine in the early morning. They kissed the doors of the shrine as they entered in reverence to this, the most holy site in Shia Islam, or one of the most holy sites in Shia Islam. But by the same deadline three hours ago, the mosque was already starting to empty. This had been something that al- Sistani and his aides had requested, that people should return peacefully back to their homes. And that certainly seems to be happening now with these tens of thousands of people who've gathered in Najaf and Kufa, the nearby suburb city next to Najaf, on Thursday.
We heard from the -- one of the leading representatives of Muqtada al-Sadr, who, incidentally, has not yet been seen. He hasn't been seen for some days in Najaf. But Sheikh Ahmed Shaibani told our team in Najaf that the greatest accomplishment of this peace deal between the two sides was to prove to the United States and to the Iraqi government that the top authority in Iraq was the Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani and the Majaia (ph), which is this spiritual authority, this collection of elders who represent the most holy of holies in clerical Shia Islam -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Diana Muriel reporting live from Baghdad this morning.
Thank you.
Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlesconi, says his country will stay active in the war on terror despite the killing of an Italian journalist held hostage in Iraq. Enzo Baldoni was abducted last Thursday. Al Jazeera TV reports an Islamic group executed him because Italy did not meet its demands to withdraw its 3,000 troops from Iraq within 48 hours.
For more on the struggle for Iraq, including details on the Najaf peace deal, log onto our Website at cnn.com.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, some new evidence raises more questions for investigators in Russia. At 17 minutes past the hour, we'll get a live report from Moscow about what's been found in the debris field of one of those two downed jetliners.
At 47 past the hour, some helpful hints as the school year gets under way about calming your little ones' fears.
This is DAYBREAK for a Friday morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON LEAF, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "FORTUNE": Thor Industries has been riding high in R.V. sales. It's the number one maker of towable recreational vehicles. This company has managed to expand the old- fashioned way, by gobbling up its competitors. What began in 1980 with the purchase of Air Stream is now a mini conglomerate of sorts, with 10 R.V. brands. This is a notoriously capital intensive, cost sensitive and low margin business. Any increase in costs will hurt their bottom line.
One trend that they can look forward to is an aging baby boom generation with a love of America's blue highways.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: U.S. markets will open down today.
The Dow closed down 8 points yesterday.
The Nasdaq also fell nearly 8 points.
And the S&P Index actually rose, but not by much, less than a 1/4 point.
It's been a good day for the overseas markets, though.
Japan's Nikkei closes up 80 points.
Britain's FTSE is trading up 17 points.
And France's CAC now up 41 points.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It is 5:15 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Fighters loyal to the cleric Muqtada al-Sadr are putting down their weapons and leaving a holy mosque in Najaf. A peace agreement was reached after thousands of Iraqis marched to the area in an effort to bring peace.
For the most part, al Qaeda operations are pretty much done on the cheap. A United Nations report says terror missions like the train attacks in Spain this year cost far less than $50,000. But the 9/11 plot cost al Qaeda just about $.5 million.
In money news, TiVo may be adding more TV viewers, but it's losing cash. The video recording maker is reporting heavy quarterly losses. The company is spending big to sign up new users, which has some analysts putting the subscription service on pause.
In culture, forget about watching Nick and Jessica's wedded bliss. How about an inside look at Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston's marriage? That could teach you a lesson or two. The cable channel Bravo is reportedly negotiating a deal on a reality series based on the couple.
In sports, the U.S. women's soccer team is bringing home gold again. The women beat Brazil 2-1 in an overtime final showdown in Athens. Many of the team's long-term members say they will retire now. And -- Chad, of course that includes Mia Hamm.
MYERS: Yes, one of the really great names in the women's soccer. I mean she...
COSTELLO: In all soccer, women's and men's.
MYERS: When you think of -- right, exactly. When you think of soccer and you think of a name, it's going to be Pele and it's going to be Mia Hamm.
COSTELLO: Absolutely.
MYERS: So, yes, great stuff for those girls.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
The evidence is pointing to twin terror attacks in Russia. Just this morning, investigators found traces of explosives in the wreckage of one of those two crashed planes. Plus, a militant Muslim group is apparently claiming responsibility for both crashes.
Live to Moscow now and Paula Hancocks. She has more on these new developments -- good morning.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, the FSB, which is the security services over here in Russia, have confirmed to us that they have found traces of explosives amongst the wreckage of the second plane attack. Now, there were two plane crashes within minutes of each other just south of Moscow on Tuesday evening. The second plane crash, they say they have found traces of explosives, which tentative analysis, they say, identifies it as hexogen.
Now, this is an explosive that's been around for about five years or so which Russian officials in the past have said has been attributed to attacks by Chechen rebels.
Now, there's been attacks using the hexogen. For example, apartment blocks in Moscow in 1999, which killed hundreds of people. Some Chechen rebels or Chechen dissent people were actually accused of that and jailed for that.
Now, Interfax, the news agency over here, has been saying that they have sources telling us two women on both of those planes are being searched for at the moment by soldiers and by law enforcement officers. On the first plane that crashed, they say there's a Chechen woman who last bought a ticket, the last person to buy a ticket, just an hour before the flight took off. And they are looking for her body at the moment, about 200 soldiers at that crash site. They want to find out who she was, whether she had any relatives on the plane. They're trying to find her relatives, as well. And the interior ministry there confirming that she is a citizen of Grozny, the capital of Chechnya.
And then on the second plane, there was a second woman, whose body has not been claimed, the security services are saying. They say she is of Chechen descent, as well, although they did say when quizzed by journalists that they have no reason to believe that she was part of this terrorist act. Now, also, a source in aviation structures has been telling Interfax that the second plane did give an SOS signal just before it crashed and it also gave a hijack alarm signal. When air controllers responded to that, they didn't respond back and the plane crashed.
Carol -- back to you.
COSTELLO: Paula Hancocks live in Moscow.
Thank you.
The explosives found in that Russian wreckage is the lead story on our Web site. Stay on top of developments throughout your day by clicking onto cnn.com.
What you think is hot on our Web site is straight ahead in our Web clicks section.
Also, a canine named Karla may have missed her calling. Her high flying adventures ahead.
You are watching DAYBREAK for a Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's time to check out cnn.com and our Web clicks section this morning, because we're always interested in what you're interested in on our Web site.
And the number one clicked on story is about...
MYERS: Stolen beer.
COSTELLO: This is really funny, though.
MYERS: Fifty thousand cans of Moosehead MIA in Canada.
COSTELLO: Yes. A driver in Canada was apparently driving a shipment on its way to Mexico. He's driving through Canada and police say he decided to steal the beer so they...
MYERS: Yes, but...
COSTELLO: They found his truck running with no beer. There were 50,000 beers in the back of his truck.
MYERS: Yes. They found four beers, three of them empty.
COSTELLO: They searched the grounds around the running truck, only found three beers.
MYERS: Here is the problem. This truck was going to Mexico. This was an export for Moosehead and the cans are in Spanish.
COSTELLO: So he couldn't sell them anywhere in Canada.
MYERS: Oh, well.
COSTELLO: It's a funny story.
MYERS: That's a party.
Go on.
COSTELLO: OK, the second most clicked on story, a serious story, is the Shiites streaming into the Najaf mosque.
MYERS: Oh, yes.
COSTELLO: And, you know, there was a deal this morning.
MYERS: Sure.
COSTELLO: The Mahdi militia apparently laying down its arms. And, of course, we're following that story throughout the morning.
The third most clicked on story, Paul Hamm, the Olympian with all of that controversy about his gold medal.
MYERS: Yes, did you see the old coach that was talking about this and how, you know, after he knew what the score was for the South Korean, he knew what he had to get so he did what he had to get to get that score? He could have had a higher score if he really would have pushed it, but so you can't go back and say wait, I'm not going to give that up.
COSTELLO: Well, the thing that shocked me in this interview is nobody really told him about the controversy. He read about it on the Internet. No one called him and said, you know, look, there's a real controversy going on about your gold medal.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: He had to read about it on the Internet.
And then they left it up to him on whether to give away his gold medal, and he decided to keep it.
MYERS: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: That's an amazing story.
Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
The dream is still alive for the U.S. Olympic basketball team. Can they claim the gold? Ooh, we'll take you live to Athens later this hour.
And it's right around the corner, from security concerns to problems with protesters, what can you expect from the Republican national convention? We'll go to the A to Z straight ahead.
This is DAYBREAK for Friday. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: 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, Shiite marchers have entered the march in Najaf, replacing the militiamen who had occupied it for weeks. Some of those militiamen complied with the request by the renegade cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, to lay down their arms before leaving. But many armed militia members were seen outside of that mosque.
Russia's Federal Security Service says traces of explosives have been found in the wreckage of one of those two downed jetliners. The agency also says suspects in that crash have been identified, but they are not in custody.
Back here in the States, jury selection begins today in Kobe Bryant's sexual assault case. About 500 prospective jurors are expected to fill out questionnaires.
A final chance today for the Iraqi soccer team. It could win a bronze medal by beating Italy at the Athens Olympics. It would be only the second Olympic medal in Iraqi history.
Over to the forecast center now and Chad...
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: You're walking around.
MYERS: I'm walking around here.
COSTELLO: Get over to that weather board.
MYERS: I'm running around with my head cut off this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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 August 27, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: For the first time in three weeks, a truce in Iraq's Najaf. But will it hold?
It is Friday, August 27.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news, a deadline met in Najaf just about three hours ago. Militia loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr meet a deadline to turn in their weapons. A mosque that is one of the Shiites -- one of Shiites' holiest shrines -- has been the focus of intense fighting the last three weeks. We'll go live to Iraq after the half hour.
Within the last hour, Russia's top security service says it has found traces of explosives in the wreckage of at least one of two Russian passenger jets that crashed Tuesday. Eighty-nine people were killed in the near simultaneous crashes.
Jury selection in the sexual assault trial of NBA star Kobe Bryant gets under way today in Eagle County. About 500 prospective jurors are expected to fill out questionnaires.
The White House is taking steps to implement some of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Senior administration officials tell CNN that among those steps, the drafting of executive orders establishing a national intelligence director's post -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: We begin this hour with politics. And the weekend before the start of the Republican national convention, Democrat John Kerry is stumping out West. Yesterday in Minnesota, he called for weekly debates with President Bush until election day. Senator Kerry has a town hall meeting this morning in Daly City, California, and then a fundraiser in San Francisco. He'll spend the weekend in Washington State, with stops scheduled at Everett, Seattle and Tacoma.
President Bush, who campaigned in New Mexico, heads for Florida today. It's part of an eight state tour that'll end next week at the Republican convention in New York. Bush will be joined in Miami today by Senator Zel Miller, a Democrat from Georgia who will be the keynote speaker at the Republican convention.
National conventions do not come cheap, especially in New York City. But you may be surprised at how much private donors are willing to spend for next week's GOP party.
Here's CNN's Allan Chernoff.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The proposed budget for the Republican national convention is $64 million, excluding security. But the final price tag may be even higher. The New York host committee's fundraiser say they've collected about $70 million in private donations.
LEWIS EISENBERG, CO-CHAIR, NEW YORK CITY HOST COMMITTEE: This is New York City. Everything is better. And when you want the best, it usually costs a little more. This will be the best. It'll cost a little more.
CHERNOFF: It'll cost plenty just to accommodate reporters -- $4.5 million to renovate the city's main post office into a giant media work space; another $.75 million to build a temporary bridge across Eighth Avenue so reporters can have easy access to the convention on the other side of the street. And rental for Madison Square Garden? $5 million.
KEVIN SHEEKEY, PRESIDENT, NEW YORK CITY HOST COMMITTEE: It sounds like a lot, but we spent $15 million renovating the Garden. The entire lower section of the Garden has been taken out. It's been built up nine and a half feet. A new floor has been put in. I mean it's a really dynamic change that people are going to see in the Garden when the curtain is pulled back.
CHERNOFF: Madison Square Garden, home to basketball's New York Knicks and hockey's Rangers, is a contractor's delight this week. More than $2 million spent on electrical work, $2.5 million to construct the speaker's podium, $800,000 for decor and fabric coverings. The Republicans plan to put on a big show -- $5.5 million allocated for program and production costs. Then, there are parties and entertainment around town.
SHEEKEY: A welcome for delegates on Broadway, renting out Broadway shows, sending delegates to something that you can't recreate anywhere else in the country, another $1.5 million. And, as someone once said, a million here, a million there, it starts to add up.
CHERNOFF (on camera): It's not that the Democrats were chintzy in Boston, but the Republicans clearly have more elaborate plans. And in New York, the GOP is proving that throwing a grand old party can run up a tab approaching $70 million.
Allan Chernoff, CNN Financial News, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: A statistical dead heat in the race for president. The latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, completed on Wednesday, gives President Bush a slight lead over Senator John Kerry among likely voters. Fifty percent of those surveyed prefer Bush for president; 47 percent chose Kerry. But the difference is within the 4 percentage point margin of error.
All next week during the convention, if you're away from your television and you're on satellite radio, or even regular radio, tune us in. CNN LIVE FROM anchor Kyra Phillips and I will be broadcasting live every night starting at 8:00 Eastern, that's in the p.m., on CNN Radio. We'll have complete coverage of everything going on in the Big Apple. That's on CNN Radio all next week, from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern.
In News Across America this morning, actress Susan Sarandon had a long correspondence with a Texas man put to death last night. Sarandon has been a long time opponent of the death penalty since her Oscar winning role in the movie "Dead Man Walking." She visited James Allridge last month in Houston. He was executed for killing a store clerk.
A Texas mother accused of abandoning her seven children in Nigeria has avoided a custody hearing. A lawyer for the adoptive mother agreed to let the kids stay in state care for now. The attorney says the woman did nothing wrong and hopes to eventually regain custody of the kids.
Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten is denied parole for a 15th time. Van Houghton is serving a life sentence for the brutal 1969 murder of actress Sharon Tate and seven others. No one convicted in those killings has ever been released.
At least two more soldiers are expected to be charged in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal. According to court testimony, Specialists Armin Cruz and Roman Krol directed the abuse.
CNN's Paula Zahn spoke with a former Army Reservist who says he saw Krol in action, but he doesn't know who was calling the shots.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNETH DAVIS, FORMER ARMY RESERVE M.P.: I'm not sure how the orders were made, but what I know is every time we would question something or question who was in charge, it was explicit. It was told to us military intelligence is in charge of this compound.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And who would you ask that of?
DAVIS: Either our lieutenants or our captain, anybody that would be in the chain of command. Even soldiers and sergeants would know that's who's in charge of this place, because they'd make it very evident.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: Krol adamantly denies the charges and says Davis is mistaken.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPEC. ROMAN KROL, MILITARY INTELLIGENCE: Military intelligence have their rules of engagement for interrogations and every interrogation that I did, I stayed within those boundaries. I never went out of boundaries during an interrogation. What happened here was obviously directed by M.P.s. I would assume that.
ZAHN: And, of course, the accusation by Ken Davis is that you and your colleague, Mr. Cruz, were directing the activities here.
KROL: He's wrong, of course.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Two reports on the scandal have been released this week. The so-called Fay Report cites 44 instances of abuse at the prison, some of which amounted to torture.
For the first time, President Bush is acknowledging he may have been mistaken about how things would play out after shrine was ousted. The president is quoted in the "New York Times" this morning as saying he made, and I'm quoting here, "a miscalculation of what the conditions would be after U.S. troops went into Iraq."
Still, Bush adds, and I'm quoting again, "We are adjusting to our conditions."
In Iraq's Najaf, a deadline has passed for the Mahdi militia to surrender their weapons. Najaf's old city has been the scene of some of most intense post-war fighting in Iraq.
Let's see if the deal brokered between two clerics is working this morning.
Let's head live to Baghdad now and Diana Muriel -- are militiamen laying down their arms?
DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, the deadline expired just over three hours ago. And by that time, we were told by our team on the ground in Najaf that it seemed that the majority of the Mahdi militia, these fighters loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr who had been holed up in the area around the Shrine of Imam Ali these past three weeks fighting U.S. forces and Iraqi forces, the majority of their weapons have been handed in. They were changing out of their black camouflage dress into civilian dress and they were merging with the throng of people who had responded to the call by the Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani on Thursday to come to Najaf to rescue the holy city.
These pilgrims have come to the shrine in the early morning. They kissed the doors of the shrine as they entered in reverence to this, the most holy site in Shia Islam, or one of the most holy sites in Shia Islam. But by the same deadline three hours ago, the mosque was already starting to empty. This had been something that al- Sistani and his aides had requested, that people should return peacefully back to their homes. And that certainly seems to be happening now with these tens of thousands of people who've gathered in Najaf and Kufa, the nearby suburb city next to Najaf, on Thursday.
We heard from the -- one of the leading representatives of Muqtada al-Sadr, who, incidentally, has not yet been seen. He hasn't been seen for some days in Najaf. But Sheikh Ahmed Shaibani told our team in Najaf that the greatest accomplishment of this peace deal between the two sides was to prove to the United States and to the Iraqi government that the top authority in Iraq was the Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani and the Majaia (ph), which is this spiritual authority, this collection of elders who represent the most holy of holies in clerical Shia Islam -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Diana Muriel reporting live from Baghdad this morning.
Thank you.
Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlesconi, says his country will stay active in the war on terror despite the killing of an Italian journalist held hostage in Iraq. Enzo Baldoni was abducted last Thursday. Al Jazeera TV reports an Islamic group executed him because Italy did not meet its demands to withdraw its 3,000 troops from Iraq within 48 hours.
For more on the struggle for Iraq, including details on the Najaf peace deal, log onto our Website at cnn.com.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, some new evidence raises more questions for investigators in Russia. At 17 minutes past the hour, we'll get a live report from Moscow about what's been found in the debris field of one of those two downed jetliners.
At 47 past the hour, some helpful hints as the school year gets under way about calming your little ones' fears.
This is DAYBREAK for a Friday morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON LEAF, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "FORTUNE": Thor Industries has been riding high in R.V. sales. It's the number one maker of towable recreational vehicles. This company has managed to expand the old- fashioned way, by gobbling up its competitors. What began in 1980 with the purchase of Air Stream is now a mini conglomerate of sorts, with 10 R.V. brands. This is a notoriously capital intensive, cost sensitive and low margin business. Any increase in costs will hurt their bottom line.
One trend that they can look forward to is an aging baby boom generation with a love of America's blue highways.
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COSTELLO: U.S. markets will open down today.
The Dow closed down 8 points yesterday.
The Nasdaq also fell nearly 8 points.
And the S&P Index actually rose, but not by much, less than a 1/4 point.
It's been a good day for the overseas markets, though.
Japan's Nikkei closes up 80 points.
Britain's FTSE is trading up 17 points.
And France's CAC now up 41 points.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It is 5:15 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Fighters loyal to the cleric Muqtada al-Sadr are putting down their weapons and leaving a holy mosque in Najaf. A peace agreement was reached after thousands of Iraqis marched to the area in an effort to bring peace.
For the most part, al Qaeda operations are pretty much done on the cheap. A United Nations report says terror missions like the train attacks in Spain this year cost far less than $50,000. But the 9/11 plot cost al Qaeda just about $.5 million.
In money news, TiVo may be adding more TV viewers, but it's losing cash. The video recording maker is reporting heavy quarterly losses. The company is spending big to sign up new users, which has some analysts putting the subscription service on pause.
In culture, forget about watching Nick and Jessica's wedded bliss. How about an inside look at Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston's marriage? That could teach you a lesson or two. The cable channel Bravo is reportedly negotiating a deal on a reality series based on the couple.
In sports, the U.S. women's soccer team is bringing home gold again. The women beat Brazil 2-1 in an overtime final showdown in Athens. Many of the team's long-term members say they will retire now. And -- Chad, of course that includes Mia Hamm.
MYERS: Yes, one of the really great names in the women's soccer. I mean she...
COSTELLO: In all soccer, women's and men's.
MYERS: When you think of -- right, exactly. When you think of soccer and you think of a name, it's going to be Pele and it's going to be Mia Hamm.
COSTELLO: Absolutely.
MYERS: So, yes, great stuff for those girls.
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COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
The evidence is pointing to twin terror attacks in Russia. Just this morning, investigators found traces of explosives in the wreckage of one of those two crashed planes. Plus, a militant Muslim group is apparently claiming responsibility for both crashes.
Live to Moscow now and Paula Hancocks. She has more on these new developments -- good morning.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, the FSB, which is the security services over here in Russia, have confirmed to us that they have found traces of explosives amongst the wreckage of the second plane attack. Now, there were two plane crashes within minutes of each other just south of Moscow on Tuesday evening. The second plane crash, they say they have found traces of explosives, which tentative analysis, they say, identifies it as hexogen.
Now, this is an explosive that's been around for about five years or so which Russian officials in the past have said has been attributed to attacks by Chechen rebels.
Now, there's been attacks using the hexogen. For example, apartment blocks in Moscow in 1999, which killed hundreds of people. Some Chechen rebels or Chechen dissent people were actually accused of that and jailed for that.
Now, Interfax, the news agency over here, has been saying that they have sources telling us two women on both of those planes are being searched for at the moment by soldiers and by law enforcement officers. On the first plane that crashed, they say there's a Chechen woman who last bought a ticket, the last person to buy a ticket, just an hour before the flight took off. And they are looking for her body at the moment, about 200 soldiers at that crash site. They want to find out who she was, whether she had any relatives on the plane. They're trying to find her relatives, as well. And the interior ministry there confirming that she is a citizen of Grozny, the capital of Chechnya.
And then on the second plane, there was a second woman, whose body has not been claimed, the security services are saying. They say she is of Chechen descent, as well, although they did say when quizzed by journalists that they have no reason to believe that she was part of this terrorist act. Now, also, a source in aviation structures has been telling Interfax that the second plane did give an SOS signal just before it crashed and it also gave a hijack alarm signal. When air controllers responded to that, they didn't respond back and the plane crashed.
Carol -- back to you.
COSTELLO: Paula Hancocks live in Moscow.
Thank you.
The explosives found in that Russian wreckage is the lead story on our Web site. Stay on top of developments throughout your day by clicking onto cnn.com.
What you think is hot on our Web site is straight ahead in our Web clicks section.
Also, a canine named Karla may have missed her calling. Her high flying adventures ahead.
You are watching DAYBREAK for a Friday.
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COSTELLO: It's time to check out cnn.com and our Web clicks section this morning, because we're always interested in what you're interested in on our Web site.
And the number one clicked on story is about...
MYERS: Stolen beer.
COSTELLO: This is really funny, though.
MYERS: Fifty thousand cans of Moosehead MIA in Canada.
COSTELLO: Yes. A driver in Canada was apparently driving a shipment on its way to Mexico. He's driving through Canada and police say he decided to steal the beer so they...
MYERS: Yes, but...
COSTELLO: They found his truck running with no beer. There were 50,000 beers in the back of his truck.
MYERS: Yes. They found four beers, three of them empty.
COSTELLO: They searched the grounds around the running truck, only found three beers.
MYERS: Here is the problem. This truck was going to Mexico. This was an export for Moosehead and the cans are in Spanish.
COSTELLO: So he couldn't sell them anywhere in Canada.
MYERS: Oh, well.
COSTELLO: It's a funny story.
MYERS: That's a party.
Go on.
COSTELLO: OK, the second most clicked on story, a serious story, is the Shiites streaming into the Najaf mosque.
MYERS: Oh, yes.
COSTELLO: And, you know, there was a deal this morning.
MYERS: Sure.
COSTELLO: The Mahdi militia apparently laying down its arms. And, of course, we're following that story throughout the morning.
The third most clicked on story, Paul Hamm, the Olympian with all of that controversy about his gold medal.
MYERS: Yes, did you see the old coach that was talking about this and how, you know, after he knew what the score was for the South Korean, he knew what he had to get so he did what he had to get to get that score? He could have had a higher score if he really would have pushed it, but so you can't go back and say wait, I'm not going to give that up.
COSTELLO: Well, the thing that shocked me in this interview is nobody really told him about the controversy. He read about it on the Internet. No one called him and said, you know, look, there's a real controversy going on about your gold medal.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: He had to read about it on the Internet.
And then they left it up to him on whether to give away his gold medal, and he decided to keep it.
MYERS: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: That's an amazing story.
Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
The dream is still alive for the U.S. Olympic basketball team. Can they claim the gold? Ooh, we'll take you live to Athens later this hour.
And it's right around the corner, from security concerns to problems with protesters, what can you expect from the Republican national convention? We'll go to the A to Z straight ahead.
This is DAYBREAK for Friday. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: 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, Shiite marchers have entered the march in Najaf, replacing the militiamen who had occupied it for weeks. Some of those militiamen complied with the request by the renegade cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, to lay down their arms before leaving. But many armed militia members were seen outside of that mosque.
Russia's Federal Security Service says traces of explosives have been found in the wreckage of one of those two downed jetliners. The agency also says suspects in that crash have been identified, but they are not in custody.
Back here in the States, jury selection begins today in Kobe Bryant's sexual assault case. About 500 prospective jurors are expected to fill out questionnaires.
A final chance today for the Iraqi soccer team. It could win a bronze medal by beating Italy at the Athens Olympics. It would be only the second Olympic medal in Iraqi history.
Over to the forecast center now and Chad...
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: You're walking around.
MYERS: I'm walking around here.
COSTELLO: Get over to that weather board.
MYERS: I'm running around with my head cut off this morning.
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