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CNN Live At Daybreak
Latest Developments in Najaf; Bryant Trial Jury Selection Begins
Aired August 27, 2004 - 06:00 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: You can still see the damage from the fighting, but this morning all is quiet on the streets of Najaf. Will the peace last? 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, within the past couple of hours, Russia's top security service says it has found traces of explosives in the wreckage of at least one of those two Russian passenger jets that crashed on Tuesday. Eighty-nine people were killed in those near simultaneous crashes. We'll have a live report out of Moscow for you at 20 past the hour.
A fragile peace takes hold in Najaf. Thousands of people march to the Imam Ali Mosque this morning for prayers after Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his men to lay down their weapons and leave. Iraq's most powerful cleric was able to broker an agreement to end the fighting for now.
Jury selection in the sexual assault trial of NBA star Kobe Bryant gets underway today in Eagle County. About 500 prospective jurors are expected to fill out questionnaires. We'll have a live report for you from Eagle in just a few minutes.
And 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 and establishing a national intelligence director's post -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: It's a deal. Iraq's Mehdi Militia is under new marching orders. They're being told to lay down their arms and leave the embattled cities of Najaf and Kufa. Are they listening?
We take you live to Baghdad and Diana Muriel to find out -- hello.
DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, it certainly seems that they have responded to the call from the representatives of Muqtada al-Sadr, this renegade junior cleric that they've been following for the last three weeks, fighting U.S. forces and Iraqi forces around the shrine of the Imam Ali in Najaf.
The deadline passed for the handing over of weapons. And by that time, in midmorning Iraq time, the majority of the weapons that appeared had been handed over and the Mehdi Militia was mingling with the tens of thousands who had come to Najaf to worship at the shrine. But we were also told by the representatives of the Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani, who had brokered this peace agreement, that they should leave and return to their homes.
It now seems as if the shrine is empty. The worshipers have left the shrine and the doors of the shrine have been locked. It's a scene of devastation in Najaf. This city has taken a pounding in the last three weeks, as Mehdi Militia have fought the U.S. forces and the Iraqi forces, and, indeed, the Iraqi police force. It's the Iraqi police force now who are nominally in control of security of the city, although there are still some U.S. forces present, but in ever smaller numbers, in the area -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Diana Muriel reporting live from Baghdad this morning.
Thank you.
On the subject of Iraq, for the first time, President Bush is saying he miscalculated. In the "New York Times" this morning, the president is quoted as saying he made a miscalculation of what the conditions would be in post-war Iraq. He says it was an unexpected consequence of a swift victory in Iraq and he says the U.S. military is now adjusting.
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, FMR. ARMY RESERVE M.P.: I'm not sure how the orders were made, but I'm just -- 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 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: Well, 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. Now 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.
In other stories across America this Friday, 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 ever 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 second federal judge has rejected as unconstitutional a ban on a late term abortion procedure opponents call partial birth abortion. A judge in New York, like one in San Francisco, fought the ban for not containing an exception to protect the woman's health.
In a few hours, California will hold a huge garage sale. That's right, the state is emptying warehouses and selling out surplus office equipment, computers, cars and many other things it's accumulated over the years. The massive house cleaning is part of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's move to make state government more efficient.
Hundreds of people have a long day ahead of them in Eagle County. That's where jury selection for the Kobe Bryant rape trial is set to begin in just a few hours. It is bound to be an arduous task.
Let's go to CNN's Keith Oppenheim for the latest -- good morning.
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.
And those hundreds of jurors that you mentioned, they will be coming to this courthouse to fill out questionnaires today. That's the beginning of the process. And this is a day, I should mention, that some thought might not even come, that prosecutors might have dropped this case, fearing that they didn't have enough to win. But the process is inching forward, and as it does, prosecutors are making a last minute attempt to suppress some potentially damaging evidence.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE) OPPENHEIM (voice-over): An eleventh hour move -- prosecutors try to suppress DNA evidence that defense lawyers say shows the accuser had sex with another man after her hotel room encounter with Kobe Bryant.
CRAIG SILVERMAN, FMR. DENVER DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: The prosecution is contending the defense DNA evidence is not proper, it's been contaminated. As such, they're saying it's not scientifically reliable and should be kept out of evidence.
OPPENHEIM: Judge Terry Ruckriegle has yet to rule. It's the latest skirmish in a case that began in June of last year, when Bryant first had contact with a hotel worker, then 19. She says he raped her. He says the sex was consensual.
Since then, there have been blunders. Transcripts from a closed hearing were mistakenly e-mailed to media outlets. Twice the accuser's name was posted on a courthouse Web site. The accuser's father wrote to the judge saying his family has lost trust in the court.
CYNTHIA STONE, VICTIMS RIGHTS ADVOCATE: All along, the information that has gotten out in this case, either leaked out or through errors of the court, has been very much skewed to the defense side.
OPPENHEIM: The prosecution won some battles, namely that statements from Bryant and recorded by police will be admitted. Most of the accuser's mental health history will not. Still, the judge's decision to allow the sexual history of the accuser just around the time of the alleged rape could be pivotal and will enable the defense to cast doubt on her credibility.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
OPPENHEIM: And of course, in the background of all this, the accuser has filed a civil suit against Bryant in the federal court in Denver. And that could make the prosecution's job a bit tougher here, as defense attorneys may try to portray her as someone who is trying to profit from this case.
Carol -- back to you.
COSTELLO: Keith Oppenheim reporting live from Eagle County this morning.
Thank you.
The Chicago woman suing William Kennedy Smith says it's not about the money. Audra Soulias, who once worked for Smith, says she does not, as she puts it, want to see one more woman victimized. Soulias claims she was sexually assaulted by Smith five years ago.
Smith, the nephew of Senator Edward Kennedy, says Soulias demanded a $3 million payoff in exchange for not going to court, but she says she had to speak out. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AUDRA SOULIAS, SMITH'S ACCUSER: On January 16, 1999, my innocence was involuntarily taken from me in a manner by someone who I trusted and respected. It was taken in a violent act that will haunt me until the day I die. In fact, I would not have come forward had I not been recontacted by the individual who sexually assaulted me after several years of silence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: In 1991, a jury in West Palm Beach, Florida found William Kennedy Smith not guilty of sexually assaulting a woman he met in a nightclub.
An old school computer company is hoping to ride the new techno gadget wave. The iPod is getting some competition. But we'll tell you why the hPod won't have Apple seeing red at 14 minutes past the hour.
Also ahead for you, we're working on a live report out of Moscow and some potentially shocking developments on those simultaneous crashes of two jetliners.
And finally, if you can make it there, can you make it in Washington? We're going live to New York City for a preview of what Republicans can expect at their nominating convention.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Terrorism was always suspected, but now it looks even more likely. Major developments this morning in the crashes of two Russian airliners just minutes apart on Tuesday night.
Let's go live to Moscow now and CNN correspondent Paula Hancocks.
She brings us up to date -- hello.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Well, Federal Security Services have this Friday confirmed what, as you say, many people already suspected, that terrorism could likely have been linked to the crash of these two planes, which killed 89 passengers and crew on Tuesday night.
Now, the Security Services have confirmed that they found traces of explosives amongst the wreckage of the second plane, which crashed about 1,000 kilometers south of Moscow on its way to a Black Sea resort, where President Vladimir Putin was staying at the time.
They have confirmed that this explosive is hexogen. They say tentative analysis does point toward hexogen. That's an explosive that emerged in this country around five years ago. It was used in extensive Moscow apartment bombings in 1999, which killed about 300 people and were blamed on Chechen separatists.
Now, Interfax, the news agency here, is also saying that the FSB, the Security Services, are very interested to discover more about two women, one of each were on each of the planes.
Now, on the first plane, the smaller of tonight planes, they say that a Chechen -- a woman of Chechen origin was on the passenger list, but they have not yet found the body. Now, 200 soldiers, we're being told by Interfax, are combing through the wreckage at the moment to find any indication that she was on that plane. She was the very last aboard the plane. She bought a ticket just one hour before the plane took off and the Chechen interior ministry has confirmed that she was, in fact, a citizen of Grozny, the capital.
And then on the second flight, there was another woman who was on board that flight. She, her body has been found, but nobody has claimed her body and there were no relatives waiting to meet her, either.
Now, relatives of the people who were killed on these planes have been, over the past day or so, nearby the crash sites, trying to identify their dead. But the FSB, the Security Services, say at the moment there's no reason to believe she may have been involved in this terrorist act.
Also, Interfax, the news agency, is saying one source in the aviation world is saying that there were two alarm calls from the second plane that crashed. The first alarm call was an SOS call, followed swiftly by a hijacker alarm. The air controllers say they did reply instantly, that there was no response after that. That's when that second plane crashed.
Now, officials have said that they have not had any joy with the so-called black boxes, these flight data recorders, suggesting they could have been turned off or they weren't working just before the crashes.
Carol -- back to you.
COSTELLO: Paula Hancocks reporting live from Moscow this morning.
Thank you.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 6:16 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
For the first time in weeks, fighters are leaving Iraq's Imam Ali Shrine. The militia loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has answered a call to disarm and vacate the mosque.
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 half a million dollars.
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? 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 time members, though, say they will retire now -- Chad.
MYERS: And they all kept their shirts on, Carol, just so you know.
COSTELLO: Including Brandy Chastain.
MYERS: Good morning, everybody.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
Do have you a big meeting this afternoon? Should you eat steak or a bowl of pasta for lunch to keep you going? Or maybe energy in a can is your choice. Coming up, which boosters are best.
You are watching DAYBREAK for Friday, August 27.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is Friday, of course, and if you're worn out from your work week and dreading one last day, hang in there.
CNN medical correspondent Holly Firfer is here to share some tips on how to recharge your batteries to make it to the weekend in an up mode.
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tough as it may seem, we're going to try.
You know, those energies drinks?
COSTELLO: Oh, yes.
FIRFER: You have Red Bull, Amp, Adrenaline? OK, do they really work?
COSTELLO: Do they?
FIRFER: What do you think? Have you tried them?
COSTELLO: Oh, yes.
FIRFER: And?
COSTELLO: I had one before I ran a marathon and it worked great for me.
FIRFER: Well, that's perfect. That's good.
COSTELLO: At least psychologically it did.
FIRFER: Yes, and, well, it does actually work. You have to be careful about dehydration, but they really do work. And even though it says all those ingredients on the label -- guarana, ginseng, all those kind of things, it's actually the caffeine. It is loaded with caffeine so it will give you that energy spike and instants...
COSTELLO: But all the rest of that stuff means nothing, does it?
FIRFER: Not really. Not as much as it's going to mean for that caffeine to keep you awake. For instance, get this one, three 80 milligrams of caffeine in a Red Bull, in an 8.3 ounce can, three times the amount that's in Coke or Pepsi...
COSTELLO: Wow!
FIRFER: ... and twice the amount that's in Mountain Dew, and remember Mountain Dew used to be the big, you know, I'm going to drink a Mountain Dew and stay up to do my exam. It will work, but you probably will crash. It also has a lot of sugar in it, too. It'll work temporarily. If you have a big project, if you have an exam, if you need a long drive home, it's going to work, but not to do it on a regular basis. There are some problems with it.
You can have dehydration because there's a lot of caffeine. You need to drink a lot of water with that -- gastrointestinal problems, muscle twitching, rapid heartbeat, dizziness. So, you have to be really careful when you drink them but...
COSTELLO: So, how many cans should you drink per day then?
FIRFER: Well, it just depends on what you need. Probably not more than one a day. Probably not every day, either. You just have to be really careful. Like I said, if you need it for that quick energy boost, it's probably going to work. But you need to be real careful taking it on a regular basis. You're better off trying other things.
COSTELLO: So, if I have a big meeting this afternoon and I'm feeling kind of tired, give me some more tips on what can reenergize me for that meeting.
FIRFER: A big meeting. OK, so what would you do? Would you eat a bowl of pasta or a steak? What's your gut tell you?
COSTELLO: I'd say pasta. FIRFER: Good answer. Absolutely. What you want to do is you want to eat pasta because it's going to break down quicker, get into your bloodstream, give you that sort of fueling for your brain that you need. If you have a long project or a long meeting, probably a steak, because it's going to break down over time.
OK, here's one, energy quotient. As you see here, physical energy. Here's what you can do to boost physical energy. Drink a lot of water. That's really going to help. And when you're fatigued and you say oh, go to the gym, you know, I -- you know what? Forget the gym every once in a while. If you're really tired, go home and take a nap.
Now, that's not a good excuse every day. Maybe on Fridays. You do need to exercise regularly and also eat healthy foods. That's going to help you a lot.
COSTELLO: And when you say healthy foods, do you mean like all healthy foods? I mean what healthy foods would give you a boost of energy, like broccoli, since it has fiber in it?
FIRFER: A lot of those vitamins and minerals. But how about what mom used to pack for you for lunch, peanut butter and jelly, perhaps? Maybe, you know, bananas. Bananas are great with potassium. It helps turn sugar into energy. The peanut butter and peanut butter and jelly, it's great comfort food. It also has protein and magnesium that's going to really help you. So, mom kind of knew best.
COSTELLO: OK, I'm going to go get a banana during the commercial break.
FIRFER: Yes. We'll see how you do in the next 30 minutes.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Holly.
And you'll join us again next Friday.
We look forward to it.
FIRFER: Yes.
COSTELLO: Coming up, Republicans are gearing up for their turn at the convention love fest. We'll take a look at how New Yorkers plan to greet the GOP throngs heading their way.
And we'll look at the latest Bush-Kerry poll numbers.
This is DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The president's party is in town and New York is ready for the Republicans. Will New York be anything like Boston during convention week?
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, Shiite marchers have entered the mosque in Najaf, replacing the militiamen who had occupied it for weeks. Some of the militiamen complied with a request by radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to lay down their arms before leaving. But many armed militia members were seen outside of the mosque.
Russia's Federal Security Service says traces of explosives have been found in the wreckage of one of the two jetliners that crashed minutes apart on Tuesday. The agency also says suspects in the crash have been identified, but none are in custody.
Jury selection in the sexual assault trial of NBA star Kobe Bryant gets underway today in Eagle County. 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 Olympics. It would be only the second Olympic medal in Iraqi history.
To the forecast center now and Chad -- good morning.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
(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 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You can still see the damage from the fighting, but this morning all is quiet on the streets of Najaf. Will the peace last? 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, within the past couple of hours, Russia's top security service says it has found traces of explosives in the wreckage of at least one of those two Russian passenger jets that crashed on Tuesday. Eighty-nine people were killed in those near simultaneous crashes. We'll have a live report out of Moscow for you at 20 past the hour.
A fragile peace takes hold in Najaf. Thousands of people march to the Imam Ali Mosque this morning for prayers after Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his men to lay down their weapons and leave. Iraq's most powerful cleric was able to broker an agreement to end the fighting for now.
Jury selection in the sexual assault trial of NBA star Kobe Bryant gets underway today in Eagle County. About 500 prospective jurors are expected to fill out questionnaires. We'll have a live report for you from Eagle in just a few minutes.
And 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 and establishing a national intelligence director's post -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: It's a deal. Iraq's Mehdi Militia is under new marching orders. They're being told to lay down their arms and leave the embattled cities of Najaf and Kufa. Are they listening?
We take you live to Baghdad and Diana Muriel to find out -- hello.
DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, it certainly seems that they have responded to the call from the representatives of Muqtada al-Sadr, this renegade junior cleric that they've been following for the last three weeks, fighting U.S. forces and Iraqi forces around the shrine of the Imam Ali in Najaf.
The deadline passed for the handing over of weapons. And by that time, in midmorning Iraq time, the majority of the weapons that appeared had been handed over and the Mehdi Militia was mingling with the tens of thousands who had come to Najaf to worship at the shrine. But we were also told by the representatives of the Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani, who had brokered this peace agreement, that they should leave and return to their homes.
It now seems as if the shrine is empty. The worshipers have left the shrine and the doors of the shrine have been locked. It's a scene of devastation in Najaf. This city has taken a pounding in the last three weeks, as Mehdi Militia have fought the U.S. forces and the Iraqi forces, and, indeed, the Iraqi police force. It's the Iraqi police force now who are nominally in control of security of the city, although there are still some U.S. forces present, but in ever smaller numbers, in the area -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Diana Muriel reporting live from Baghdad this morning.
Thank you.
On the subject of Iraq, for the first time, President Bush is saying he miscalculated. In the "New York Times" this morning, the president is quoted as saying he made a miscalculation of what the conditions would be in post-war Iraq. He says it was an unexpected consequence of a swift victory in Iraq and he says the U.S. military is now adjusting.
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, FMR. ARMY RESERVE M.P.: I'm not sure how the orders were made, but I'm just -- 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 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: Well, 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. Now 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.
In other stories across America this Friday, 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 ever 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 second federal judge has rejected as unconstitutional a ban on a late term abortion procedure opponents call partial birth abortion. A judge in New York, like one in San Francisco, fought the ban for not containing an exception to protect the woman's health.
In a few hours, California will hold a huge garage sale. That's right, the state is emptying warehouses and selling out surplus office equipment, computers, cars and many other things it's accumulated over the years. The massive house cleaning is part of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's move to make state government more efficient.
Hundreds of people have a long day ahead of them in Eagle County. That's where jury selection for the Kobe Bryant rape trial is set to begin in just a few hours. It is bound to be an arduous task.
Let's go to CNN's Keith Oppenheim for the latest -- good morning.
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.
And those hundreds of jurors that you mentioned, they will be coming to this courthouse to fill out questionnaires today. That's the beginning of the process. And this is a day, I should mention, that some thought might not even come, that prosecutors might have dropped this case, fearing that they didn't have enough to win. But the process is inching forward, and as it does, prosecutors are making a last minute attempt to suppress some potentially damaging evidence.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE) OPPENHEIM (voice-over): An eleventh hour move -- prosecutors try to suppress DNA evidence that defense lawyers say shows the accuser had sex with another man after her hotel room encounter with Kobe Bryant.
CRAIG SILVERMAN, FMR. DENVER DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: The prosecution is contending the defense DNA evidence is not proper, it's been contaminated. As such, they're saying it's not scientifically reliable and should be kept out of evidence.
OPPENHEIM: Judge Terry Ruckriegle has yet to rule. It's the latest skirmish in a case that began in June of last year, when Bryant first had contact with a hotel worker, then 19. She says he raped her. He says the sex was consensual.
Since then, there have been blunders. Transcripts from a closed hearing were mistakenly e-mailed to media outlets. Twice the accuser's name was posted on a courthouse Web site. The accuser's father wrote to the judge saying his family has lost trust in the court.
CYNTHIA STONE, VICTIMS RIGHTS ADVOCATE: All along, the information that has gotten out in this case, either leaked out or through errors of the court, has been very much skewed to the defense side.
OPPENHEIM: The prosecution won some battles, namely that statements from Bryant and recorded by police will be admitted. Most of the accuser's mental health history will not. Still, the judge's decision to allow the sexual history of the accuser just around the time of the alleged rape could be pivotal and will enable the defense to cast doubt on her credibility.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
OPPENHEIM: And of course, in the background of all this, the accuser has filed a civil suit against Bryant in the federal court in Denver. And that could make the prosecution's job a bit tougher here, as defense attorneys may try to portray her as someone who is trying to profit from this case.
Carol -- back to you.
COSTELLO: Keith Oppenheim reporting live from Eagle County this morning.
Thank you.
The Chicago woman suing William Kennedy Smith says it's not about the money. Audra Soulias, who once worked for Smith, says she does not, as she puts it, want to see one more woman victimized. Soulias claims she was sexually assaulted by Smith five years ago.
Smith, the nephew of Senator Edward Kennedy, says Soulias demanded a $3 million payoff in exchange for not going to court, but she says she had to speak out. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AUDRA SOULIAS, SMITH'S ACCUSER: On January 16, 1999, my innocence was involuntarily taken from me in a manner by someone who I trusted and respected. It was taken in a violent act that will haunt me until the day I die. In fact, I would not have come forward had I not been recontacted by the individual who sexually assaulted me after several years of silence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: In 1991, a jury in West Palm Beach, Florida found William Kennedy Smith not guilty of sexually assaulting a woman he met in a nightclub.
An old school computer company is hoping to ride the new techno gadget wave. The iPod is getting some competition. But we'll tell you why the hPod won't have Apple seeing red at 14 minutes past the hour.
Also ahead for you, we're working on a live report out of Moscow and some potentially shocking developments on those simultaneous crashes of two jetliners.
And finally, if you can make it there, can you make it in Washington? We're going live to New York City for a preview of what Republicans can expect at their nominating convention.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Terrorism was always suspected, but now it looks even more likely. Major developments this morning in the crashes of two Russian airliners just minutes apart on Tuesday night.
Let's go live to Moscow now and CNN correspondent Paula Hancocks.
She brings us up to date -- hello.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Well, Federal Security Services have this Friday confirmed what, as you say, many people already suspected, that terrorism could likely have been linked to the crash of these two planes, which killed 89 passengers and crew on Tuesday night.
Now, the Security Services have confirmed that they found traces of explosives amongst the wreckage of the second plane, which crashed about 1,000 kilometers south of Moscow on its way to a Black Sea resort, where President Vladimir Putin was staying at the time.
They have confirmed that this explosive is hexogen. They say tentative analysis does point toward hexogen. That's an explosive that emerged in this country around five years ago. It was used in extensive Moscow apartment bombings in 1999, which killed about 300 people and were blamed on Chechen separatists.
Now, Interfax, the news agency here, is also saying that the FSB, the Security Services, are very interested to discover more about two women, one of each were on each of the planes.
Now, on the first plane, the smaller of tonight planes, they say that a Chechen -- a woman of Chechen origin was on the passenger list, but they have not yet found the body. Now, 200 soldiers, we're being told by Interfax, are combing through the wreckage at the moment to find any indication that she was on that plane. She was the very last aboard the plane. She bought a ticket just one hour before the plane took off and the Chechen interior ministry has confirmed that she was, in fact, a citizen of Grozny, the capital.
And then on the second flight, there was another woman who was on board that flight. She, her body has been found, but nobody has claimed her body and there were no relatives waiting to meet her, either.
Now, relatives of the people who were killed on these planes have been, over the past day or so, nearby the crash sites, trying to identify their dead. But the FSB, the Security Services, say at the moment there's no reason to believe she may have been involved in this terrorist act.
Also, Interfax, the news agency, is saying one source in the aviation world is saying that there were two alarm calls from the second plane that crashed. The first alarm call was an SOS call, followed swiftly by a hijacker alarm. The air controllers say they did reply instantly, that there was no response after that. That's when that second plane crashed.
Now, officials have said that they have not had any joy with the so-called black boxes, these flight data recorders, suggesting they could have been turned off or they weren't working just before the crashes.
Carol -- back to you.
COSTELLO: Paula Hancocks reporting live from Moscow this morning.
Thank you.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 6:16 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
For the first time in weeks, fighters are leaving Iraq's Imam Ali Shrine. The militia loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has answered a call to disarm and vacate the mosque.
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 half a million dollars.
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? 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 time members, though, say they will retire now -- Chad.
MYERS: And they all kept their shirts on, Carol, just so you know.
COSTELLO: Including Brandy Chastain.
MYERS: Good morning, everybody.
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COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
Do have you a big meeting this afternoon? Should you eat steak or a bowl of pasta for lunch to keep you going? Or maybe energy in a can is your choice. Coming up, which boosters are best.
You are watching DAYBREAK for Friday, August 27.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is Friday, of course, and if you're worn out from your work week and dreading one last day, hang in there.
CNN medical correspondent Holly Firfer is here to share some tips on how to recharge your batteries to make it to the weekend in an up mode.
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tough as it may seem, we're going to try.
You know, those energies drinks?
COSTELLO: Oh, yes.
FIRFER: You have Red Bull, Amp, Adrenaline? OK, do they really work?
COSTELLO: Do they?
FIRFER: What do you think? Have you tried them?
COSTELLO: Oh, yes.
FIRFER: And?
COSTELLO: I had one before I ran a marathon and it worked great for me.
FIRFER: Well, that's perfect. That's good.
COSTELLO: At least psychologically it did.
FIRFER: Yes, and, well, it does actually work. You have to be careful about dehydration, but they really do work. And even though it says all those ingredients on the label -- guarana, ginseng, all those kind of things, it's actually the caffeine. It is loaded with caffeine so it will give you that energy spike and instants...
COSTELLO: But all the rest of that stuff means nothing, does it?
FIRFER: Not really. Not as much as it's going to mean for that caffeine to keep you awake. For instance, get this one, three 80 milligrams of caffeine in a Red Bull, in an 8.3 ounce can, three times the amount that's in Coke or Pepsi...
COSTELLO: Wow!
FIRFER: ... and twice the amount that's in Mountain Dew, and remember Mountain Dew used to be the big, you know, I'm going to drink a Mountain Dew and stay up to do my exam. It will work, but you probably will crash. It also has a lot of sugar in it, too. It'll work temporarily. If you have a big project, if you have an exam, if you need a long drive home, it's going to work, but not to do it on a regular basis. There are some problems with it.
You can have dehydration because there's a lot of caffeine. You need to drink a lot of water with that -- gastrointestinal problems, muscle twitching, rapid heartbeat, dizziness. So, you have to be really careful when you drink them but...
COSTELLO: So, how many cans should you drink per day then?
FIRFER: Well, it just depends on what you need. Probably not more than one a day. Probably not every day, either. You just have to be really careful. Like I said, if you need it for that quick energy boost, it's probably going to work. But you need to be real careful taking it on a regular basis. You're better off trying other things.
COSTELLO: So, if I have a big meeting this afternoon and I'm feeling kind of tired, give me some more tips on what can reenergize me for that meeting.
FIRFER: A big meeting. OK, so what would you do? Would you eat a bowl of pasta or a steak? What's your gut tell you?
COSTELLO: I'd say pasta. FIRFER: Good answer. Absolutely. What you want to do is you want to eat pasta because it's going to break down quicker, get into your bloodstream, give you that sort of fueling for your brain that you need. If you have a long project or a long meeting, probably a steak, because it's going to break down over time.
OK, here's one, energy quotient. As you see here, physical energy. Here's what you can do to boost physical energy. Drink a lot of water. That's really going to help. And when you're fatigued and you say oh, go to the gym, you know, I -- you know what? Forget the gym every once in a while. If you're really tired, go home and take a nap.
Now, that's not a good excuse every day. Maybe on Fridays. You do need to exercise regularly and also eat healthy foods. That's going to help you a lot.
COSTELLO: And when you say healthy foods, do you mean like all healthy foods? I mean what healthy foods would give you a boost of energy, like broccoli, since it has fiber in it?
FIRFER: A lot of those vitamins and minerals. But how about what mom used to pack for you for lunch, peanut butter and jelly, perhaps? Maybe, you know, bananas. Bananas are great with potassium. It helps turn sugar into energy. The peanut butter and peanut butter and jelly, it's great comfort food. It also has protein and magnesium that's going to really help you. So, mom kind of knew best.
COSTELLO: OK, I'm going to go get a banana during the commercial break.
FIRFER: Yes. We'll see how you do in the next 30 minutes.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Holly.
And you'll join us again next Friday.
We look forward to it.
FIRFER: Yes.
COSTELLO: Coming up, Republicans are gearing up for their turn at the convention love fest. We'll take a look at how New Yorkers plan to greet the GOP throngs heading their way.
And we'll look at the latest Bush-Kerry poll numbers.
This is DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The president's party is in town and New York is ready for the Republicans. Will New York be anything like Boston during convention week?
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, Shiite marchers have entered the mosque in Najaf, replacing the militiamen who had occupied it for weeks. Some of the militiamen complied with a request by radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to lay down their arms before leaving. But many armed militia members were seen outside of the mosque.
Russia's Federal Security Service says traces of explosives have been found in the wreckage of one of the two jetliners that crashed minutes apart on Tuesday. The agency also says suspects in the crash have been identified, but none are in custody.
Jury selection in the sexual assault trial of NBA star Kobe Bryant gets underway today in Eagle County. 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 Olympics. It would be only the second Olympic medal in Iraqi history.
To the forecast center now and Chad -- good morning.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
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