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CNN Live At Daybreak
Iraq's Police and Security Come Under Attack Again Today; A Multimillion Dollar Settlement in a Catholic Church Abuse Scandal
Aired December 03, 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: Good morning to you. Welcome to the second half hour of DAYBREAK. I'm Carol Costello. Let's get right to the headlines, now, shall we?
In Iraq, a bomb in a minibus explodes this morning in a northern Baghdad neighborhood. Eleven people are dead, seven more wounded.
A multi-million dollar settlement ends a Catholic Church abuse scandal in Orange County, California. Sources tell CNN the settlement will far exceed the $85 million paid by the Archdiocese of Boston last year.
Final day of deliberations by Ukraine supreme court over the disputed presidential election. Freezing temperatures have not deterred a week of demonstrations by thousands of opposition protesters.
A powerful typhoon is hampering rescue efforts in the Philippines. Thousands are stranded by the typhoon on the heels of a torrential rainstorm. Mud slides and flash floods have left provinces littered with bodies and collapsed homes. Up to 1,000 people are dead or missing this morning.
To the forecast center and Rob Marciano, in for Chad this morning.
(WEATHER FORECAST)
COSTELLO: Iraq's police and security come under attack again today and it is deadly. This time in the northern and western part of Baghdad. Let's head live to Baghdad now and Karl Penhaul. He'll bring us up to date.
Hello, Karl.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Carol.
The death tolls, in fact, have risen sharply as we get in more details from security sources in Baghdad. There were three simultaneous attacks here in the city, shortly after dawn. The current totals stand at 29 people killed, at least 24 other people have been wounded.
Two of the attacks took place in the Allad Emir (ph) District in the northern part of the capitol. The first a minibus packed with explosives was driven into a Shiite mosque at prayer time. Fourteen prayer goers have been killed, we're told; at least 19 others were wounded. In addition four suicide bombers aboard that minibus died.
A few hundred yards away there is a police station, insurgents also launched a simultaneous attack on that police station, firing five rockets into the polices station. No casualties from that attack.
But in the third simultaneous attack, just down in the southwest, 11 civilian cars drew up to a police station and each car several insurgents armed with rocket propelled grenades and small arms. They stormed that police station. And we are told by police that 11 Iraqi policemen were killed, five others were wounded.
Also, 20 prisoners who were being held at the police station have been released and they are on the run now, we understand.
A senior security source at the interior ministry tells us that he believes the aim of the insurgents in these attacks is to try and disrupt the January 30 elections. A police chief in Baghdad has said that he believes a lot of these insurgents have filtered into Baghdad from Falluja. And their aim, particularly with the attacks on the mosques, like we saw this morning, the aim of those insurgents is to stir up inter-religious hatred an even fuel possible civil war, Carol.
COSTELLO: Because Shiites and Sunnis, especially in Baghdad, have lived peacefully together for years and years, but they are really trying to ruin that relationship, right?
PENHAUL: That is correct. In the Allad Emir (ph) District, where this mosque attack took place, it is known of being a stronghold of loyalists, loyal to the former regime of Saddam Hussein. It is a mostly Sunni neighborhood. But there are small numbers of Shiites living there. But as you say, in the past they have always lived peacefully, side by side. And now new elements, according to police, are coming into the neighborhood and trying to stir up this hatred.
COSTELLO: Karl Penhaul, live in Baghdad this morning. Thank you.
To "The War Room" now. Many of the American troops fighting in Iraq are also college students called up from their studies to go to the front lines. About 200 of them from the University of North Dakota, alone, have been deployed to Iraq.
This morning we bring you the story of one of the brave young soldiers who is now back on campus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SGT. BRANDON ERICKSON, N.D. ARMY NATIONAL GUARD: It is so weird to come back here to Grand Forks, after leaving Iraq. I'm still in a military mindset, but they come back here to campus where everything is just kind of easy going. The only thing they have to plan for the weekend is where the big party is at, you know, or when midterms are. So, it was -- the first semester was tough.
SPC. JOE BLAKER, N.D. AMRY NATIONAL GUARD: Everybody in your unit you were good friends with. You would talk to anybody. But you walk through the halls here, you walk down the streets here, and everybody is a stranger.
Brandon is just, I mean, it is fantastic having him here. He kind of fulfills what I lost when I originally got back. The closeness that I had with a few of the guys over there, in particular, he makes up for.
ERICKSON (on camera): One of the guys who is an ex-busman (ph) in our unit...
(voice over): There is no way that I thought we'd be 23 years old, sharing war stories, about what we did in the foreign war.
We were en route from Vallad (ph) to Armadi (ph) and we were ambushed along side of the road with IED and RPGs from some insurgents. And I took and RPG (ph) in the side of the door. And when that RPG hit the door, they're guessin' it hit my elbow perfectly on and smashed it. I lost my arm. And my driver, John Fedig (ph), was killed.
That is the one hard part of that day. Is that two of us were in that truck and only one walked away from it.
ROB BOYD, V.P. STUDENT SERVICES: This is not something we just see on television, but this actually happened to one of our own.
The University of North Dakota has approximately 200 students that have been deployed to Iraq. Most of them have been put in harms way, in ways that most of us will never have to experience.
It comes home to our students that part of our community is in Iraq, helping all of us stay safe. All we can do is be supportive of it. Welcome them back. And we work really hard to make that happen.
ERICKSON: People's reaction to me has been really good. I have never had anybody ask me, well do you think you did the right thing. And they -- every person, the first thing they say is, thank you.
It is so (UNINTELLIGIBLE), because, they're like, "Oh, my god. You lost your arm in Iraq? Oh, thank you." You know? And I've gotten a thousand thank yous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First of all, does everybody have a copy of the take home midterm?
ERICKSON: Some days are tougher though. And I noticed I had a little tougher spell at the end of the summer, you know, when school was starting back up and writing, handwriting, is just tough. Because it took my 23 years to learn how to write good with my right hand and I was finally getting it to be legible. And here, now, I have to do it with my left hand.
But it is definitely tougher emotionally, because you are just not the same person. My life will be different physically. And if I wear my prosthesis, people really can't tell.
I think the experience has aged me. In my own way I've learned what is important and what's not and where I'm going to go in life.
I feel lucky. Yeah, I lost an arm, but I'm still here. I'm, you know, there's John, he's not here anymore. He had a wife and I just don't understand. When the attack came from my side, why I was allowed to survive it and he wasn't?
You know, I don't think it's fair. But I think it about it a lot. It is always there. It is always something that I don't want to forget either, because it has changed my life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: At least 1,262 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq so far. And nearly 10,000 troops have been wounded in hostile action over there.
PFC Lindy England's own words may come back to haunt her at her Abu Ghuraib prison trial. A military judge in North Carolina says prosecutors can use statements by England. In those statements she admitted to taking part in several incidents of humiliation with Iraqi prisoners and she said she did it just for fun.
That is key, because England later claimed she and others were ordered by military intelligence to soften up prisoners for interrogation.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, caught on tape, at 40 minutes past, a Florida teacher and the student she is accused of having sex with talking on the phone.
At 48 minutes after, medicated nation. What Americans are doing more of these days than ever.
And our question of the morning: Come on, do you really care if athletes use performance enhancing drugs?
But first here is what else is making news this Friday.
(GRAPHIC WITH HEADLINES)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK. It is 5:45 Eastern.
Scott Peterson's attorney is expected to call more people today who will try to persuade a jury to save his life. So far family and friends have been telling the jury how devastated they would be if Peterson were sentenced to death for the killing his wife and unborn child.
Yesterday his sister-in-law testified. She recalled a pair of slippers he once gave Laci Peterson for Christmas and Peterson cried when she talked about the first time she met his wife Laci. Janie Peterson testified, and I quote, "She took my breath away. She was just bubbly and fun and energetic and beautiful."
We'll talk to Kendall Coffey about this in the 6 o'clock hour of DAYBREAK.
To Tampa, Florida, where lawyers plan to use an insanity defense for a middle school teacher charged with having sex with 14 year old boy. Crucial to the case are taped phone calls monitored by police. CNN's Brian Todd has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Deborah Lafave has never spoken publicly, but in audiotapes just released by prosecutors the suspended Tampa area middle school teacher is heard speaking on the phone with the then-14 year old boy she is accused of having a sexual affair with.
The prosecutor's office tells CNN the boy's voice has been altered to protect his identity. Law enforcement sources tell CNN police taped calls by the 14 year old to Lafave, with his consent, between June 18 and June 21, of this year. In one conversation they discuss a call that Lafave had made to the boy's mother.
(BEGIN AUDIOTAPE)
LAFAVE: "Yeah, I called her when I got home last night."
TODD: The boy replies, "Oh, how did that go?"
LAFAVE: "It was, I mean, I just told her, I was like, you know, I'm sorry, bad judgment and I should've double-check with you, blah, blah, blah..."
TODD: The boys says, "Uh-huh, well I guess I don't think we should be going to Ocala anymore."
LAFAVE: "No. Nooo."
TODD: The boy, "But everything went smooth in the portable..."
And a moment later he says, "so, whatever, if we decide to do anything again, then that should probably be our place for now."
LAFAVE: "That's true...are you, OK?"
TODD: Lafave faces charges of lewd and lascivious acts with a child, for allegedly having sex with a teenager in, among other places, a portable school classroom and inside and SUV in Ocala, Florida, while the boy's 15-year-old cousin was driving.
In another call, they discuss birth control. The boy says, "Like, I don't want you to, like, get pregnant or anything. I was just thinking about it and I was just thinking if next time, now that we've had sex about three times, if I should use a condom or something."
LAFAVE: "Oh, you're being weird."
TODD (on camera): We tried to contact Deborah Lafave's attorney for reaction to the audiotapes. He didn't return our calls. Her trial is scheduled to begin in April -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Men love their wheels, so why is one car company designing the automobile of the future for women? I think I know. We'll take you live to London to find out.
Plus, our question of the morning: Do you care, really care, that athletes use performance enhancing drugs?
I predicted this one. We're getting a lot of e-mails. E-mail us now, Daybreak@cnn.com. And I'll give you a hint. Most people are saying, I don't care.
This is DAYBREAK for a Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: In "Health Headlines" for you this morning, Americans are popping more pills than ever before. The Department of Health and Human Services says prescription drug use is a record high. The increase is being fueled by a growing demand for anti-depressants, anti-inflammatories, as well as drugs to control cholesterol and blood sugar.
Speaking of drugs, a new study suggests heart attack survivors might do well to begin treatment with a statin drug, such as Lipitor or Zocor, as soon as possible. Researchers studied patients treated for severe chest pain or a heart attack. They found those given statins within 24 hours faired better than those not given the drugs until later.
And if you have ever wondered about the safety of ultra-sounds during pregnancy, a new study says no worries. Australian scientists say the procedure does not harm the unborn babies or restrict the unborn child's growth or development early in life.
For more on this or any other health story turn to our web site, the address, CNN.com/health.
We brought you this story weeks ago about the television news anchorwoman who posed naked for a story. It was part of a mass nude picture that an artist was taking.
Well, the Cleveland, Ohio station held the story for the all important ratings period, known as Sweeps Week. In fact, the nude mass picture was taken in the summertime, they held the story until November, which is Sweeps Week for local television stations.
Well, the anchorwoman, Sharon Reed, is defending her actions, where? On David Letterman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHARON REED, CLEVELAND ACTION TV REPORTER: What better way to do it than do it in the first person? I needed to feel -- laugh, OK, Letterman. OK.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHTER)
DAVID LETTERMAN, THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN: It is an exciting notion, don't you think? What has been the reaction?
(AUDIENCE LAUGHTER)
REED: Well, it is, uh, mixed. Viewers, which this shocked me, overwhelmingly supportive. I had my guard up. I was ready for the backlash, even though I strongly believed in the right to do this and this story. But the viewers, overwhelming -- you know, some of it is crass, what they write. But most of it is articulate. They appreciate the art, they appreciate the courage; and they say, finally, we get a journalist -- they say -- who gives us something real, shares a part of themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: As you might imagine, Cleveland's Action 19 News got its highest ratings ever for Reed's naked news story. If you are wondering how much she showed, it showed her partially disrobing and her entire naked backside, in the spirit of full disclosure.
Volvo says women are the new driving force in auto purchases. So it's latest concept car is all woman, developed exclusively by an all- female team. CNN's Jim Boulden gives us a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): If this is your idea of the closest women get involved with the launch of a new car, Volvo has other ideas.
An all-female project team designed its latest concept car. The Ford-owned luxury brand says women now influence 80 percent of auto purchases. So they must be listened to.
(On camera): What do you think women are looking for that they're not getting now?
LENA EKELUND, VOLVO CARS: Convenience, and that actually is something that both genders look for, but women to a higher extent than men; and a car where you can actually sit and reach at the same time.
BOULDEN (voice over): Seat adjusters are nothing new, but this car has pedals that move closer for a shorter driver. And there is little rest bar for high heels.
Storage is also a big need, so there is room for a laptop. And a portfolio behind the seat to store papers. There is even a little split headrest for a pony tail.
ANNA ROSEN, VOLVO CARS: It is not by women for women, it is by women for everybody. And I mean, we did not want to exclude men. It was a way of including women.
BOULDEN: And forget about looking at the engine, says Volvo. Tomorrow's cars won't need us to tinker, so there is no hood and no spare tire. The car will just e-mail the service station when it needs work.
EKELUND: We can't see any drawbacks, apart if you want to show your neighbor the pretty engine.
BOULDEN (on camera): Some people do. Men especially like to look underneath.
EKELUND: Yes, they do. And we think that the money we spend today on making the engine bay area look pretty, could be better spent.
BOULDEN (voice over): Another feature from Volvo will be exchangeable upholstery to fit your mood or match your clothes.
EKELUND: The exchangeable upholstery actually ranks higher among the men than the women, when we do our surveys.
BOULDEN: Exchangeable upholstery?
EKELUND: Yes.
BOULDEN: Men want that?
EKELUND: Yes, they do that. And they want the easy clean paint. That is their No. 1.
BOULDEN (voice over): And if you are wondering why female drivers want gull winged doors, well, Volvo admits, they just look cool.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOULDEN: And, Carol, Volvo is not afraid to say that if you meet the expectations of women, you far exceed the expectations of men. I will not comment on that. (LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: That is probably a smart thing.
You know, Sarah, our 5 a.m. producer, was really angry with the doors that went up like wings. And Volvo said it did that just because they were cool. But that is really not very convenient for women. You know, you go to the grocery store, you hit the car next to you. So, what's the deal with the doors?
BOULDEN: The idea is that the doors go up and the sill goes down until you can sweep into the car without hitting your shoes on the bottom, without getting your dress or your skirt caught in the door. So, the whole door goes out of your way and you just sweep right into the seat that moves back for you and moves up for you. COSTELLO: I like the image of that, sweeping into your car, and sweeping out. Jim Boulden, thanks for an interesting story this morning.
Here's what is all new in the next hour of DAYBREAK.
Did U2 sell out or is there partnering with Apple's iPod just the next big thing?
Plus, a different kind of love story at the box office this weekend. Tom O'Neil (ph) is here to tell you if it is something you'll want to see.
Also, today's question of the morning: What revolutionary medical operation was performed for the first time on this day 1967? This is the history question.
OK, look at it just a little longer. We'll have the answer for you after a break. This is DAYBREAK for a Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: All right our history trivia question for the morning is: What revolutionary medical operation was performed for the first time on this day 1967?
The answer is: Surgeon Christian Barnard, remember that name, he performed the first human heart transplant in Cape Town, South Africa. The recipient was 53-year-old Lewis Washkanski (ph). Washkanski died 18 days later from double pneumonia, but his heart was functioning normally, until his death.
So, there is the answer.
All right let's get to our e-mail question of the day. Sports and steroids back in the news. "The San Francisco Chronicle" quotes Barry Bonds as saying he used two substances given to him by a trainer -- that trainer -- Bonds says he was not told the substances were steroids. He thought they were, well, something else.
"The Chronicle" reported earlier that New York Yankees slugger Jason Giambi (ph) admitted to taking steroids and growth hormones. He did that in grand jury testimony.
So, our e-mail question of the day: Do you really care that athletes use performance enhancing drugs?
Let's say Jason Giambi (ph) had a great season. Would you really care that he was taking steroids? I mean, they are making ballparks smaller, so that baseball players can hit them out of the park. That is what fans want to see.
We've been getting a lot of e-mail responses. I will read some of them to you know. Most of them go something like this.
"I could care less if they use steroids. I would think they as professionals and human beings would care more about their bodies and health, but I enjoy watching them." This is from Larry from Kentucky.
This is from Chris, from North Carolina. He says, "Performance enhancing drugs should be mandatory in all sports. We pay money to be entertained by the best athletes. This mean, we want to see them dunking, hitting, punching and not just on the injury list."
And this one, from Roger, from Pennsylvania; he says, "Actually, he does care. These men and women are our kids role models. Carol, do you want your kids using drugs? That their heroes use them? That it is OK?"
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 December 3, 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: Good morning to you. Welcome to the second half hour of DAYBREAK. I'm Carol Costello. Let's get right to the headlines, now, shall we?
In Iraq, a bomb in a minibus explodes this morning in a northern Baghdad neighborhood. Eleven people are dead, seven more wounded.
A multi-million dollar settlement ends a Catholic Church abuse scandal in Orange County, California. Sources tell CNN the settlement will far exceed the $85 million paid by the Archdiocese of Boston last year.
Final day of deliberations by Ukraine supreme court over the disputed presidential election. Freezing temperatures have not deterred a week of demonstrations by thousands of opposition protesters.
A powerful typhoon is hampering rescue efforts in the Philippines. Thousands are stranded by the typhoon on the heels of a torrential rainstorm. Mud slides and flash floods have left provinces littered with bodies and collapsed homes. Up to 1,000 people are dead or missing this morning.
To the forecast center and Rob Marciano, in for Chad this morning.
(WEATHER FORECAST)
COSTELLO: Iraq's police and security come under attack again today and it is deadly. This time in the northern and western part of Baghdad. Let's head live to Baghdad now and Karl Penhaul. He'll bring us up to date.
Hello, Karl.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Carol.
The death tolls, in fact, have risen sharply as we get in more details from security sources in Baghdad. There were three simultaneous attacks here in the city, shortly after dawn. The current totals stand at 29 people killed, at least 24 other people have been wounded.
Two of the attacks took place in the Allad Emir (ph) District in the northern part of the capitol. The first a minibus packed with explosives was driven into a Shiite mosque at prayer time. Fourteen prayer goers have been killed, we're told; at least 19 others were wounded. In addition four suicide bombers aboard that minibus died.
A few hundred yards away there is a police station, insurgents also launched a simultaneous attack on that police station, firing five rockets into the polices station. No casualties from that attack.
But in the third simultaneous attack, just down in the southwest, 11 civilian cars drew up to a police station and each car several insurgents armed with rocket propelled grenades and small arms. They stormed that police station. And we are told by police that 11 Iraqi policemen were killed, five others were wounded.
Also, 20 prisoners who were being held at the police station have been released and they are on the run now, we understand.
A senior security source at the interior ministry tells us that he believes the aim of the insurgents in these attacks is to try and disrupt the January 30 elections. A police chief in Baghdad has said that he believes a lot of these insurgents have filtered into Baghdad from Falluja. And their aim, particularly with the attacks on the mosques, like we saw this morning, the aim of those insurgents is to stir up inter-religious hatred an even fuel possible civil war, Carol.
COSTELLO: Because Shiites and Sunnis, especially in Baghdad, have lived peacefully together for years and years, but they are really trying to ruin that relationship, right?
PENHAUL: That is correct. In the Allad Emir (ph) District, where this mosque attack took place, it is known of being a stronghold of loyalists, loyal to the former regime of Saddam Hussein. It is a mostly Sunni neighborhood. But there are small numbers of Shiites living there. But as you say, in the past they have always lived peacefully, side by side. And now new elements, according to police, are coming into the neighborhood and trying to stir up this hatred.
COSTELLO: Karl Penhaul, live in Baghdad this morning. Thank you.
To "The War Room" now. Many of the American troops fighting in Iraq are also college students called up from their studies to go to the front lines. About 200 of them from the University of North Dakota, alone, have been deployed to Iraq.
This morning we bring you the story of one of the brave young soldiers who is now back on campus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SGT. BRANDON ERICKSON, N.D. ARMY NATIONAL GUARD: It is so weird to come back here to Grand Forks, after leaving Iraq. I'm still in a military mindset, but they come back here to campus where everything is just kind of easy going. The only thing they have to plan for the weekend is where the big party is at, you know, or when midterms are. So, it was -- the first semester was tough.
SPC. JOE BLAKER, N.D. AMRY NATIONAL GUARD: Everybody in your unit you were good friends with. You would talk to anybody. But you walk through the halls here, you walk down the streets here, and everybody is a stranger.
Brandon is just, I mean, it is fantastic having him here. He kind of fulfills what I lost when I originally got back. The closeness that I had with a few of the guys over there, in particular, he makes up for.
ERICKSON (on camera): One of the guys who is an ex-busman (ph) in our unit...
(voice over): There is no way that I thought we'd be 23 years old, sharing war stories, about what we did in the foreign war.
We were en route from Vallad (ph) to Armadi (ph) and we were ambushed along side of the road with IED and RPGs from some insurgents. And I took and RPG (ph) in the side of the door. And when that RPG hit the door, they're guessin' it hit my elbow perfectly on and smashed it. I lost my arm. And my driver, John Fedig (ph), was killed.
That is the one hard part of that day. Is that two of us were in that truck and only one walked away from it.
ROB BOYD, V.P. STUDENT SERVICES: This is not something we just see on television, but this actually happened to one of our own.
The University of North Dakota has approximately 200 students that have been deployed to Iraq. Most of them have been put in harms way, in ways that most of us will never have to experience.
It comes home to our students that part of our community is in Iraq, helping all of us stay safe. All we can do is be supportive of it. Welcome them back. And we work really hard to make that happen.
ERICKSON: People's reaction to me has been really good. I have never had anybody ask me, well do you think you did the right thing. And they -- every person, the first thing they say is, thank you.
It is so (UNINTELLIGIBLE), because, they're like, "Oh, my god. You lost your arm in Iraq? Oh, thank you." You know? And I've gotten a thousand thank yous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First of all, does everybody have a copy of the take home midterm?
ERICKSON: Some days are tougher though. And I noticed I had a little tougher spell at the end of the summer, you know, when school was starting back up and writing, handwriting, is just tough. Because it took my 23 years to learn how to write good with my right hand and I was finally getting it to be legible. And here, now, I have to do it with my left hand.
But it is definitely tougher emotionally, because you are just not the same person. My life will be different physically. And if I wear my prosthesis, people really can't tell.
I think the experience has aged me. In my own way I've learned what is important and what's not and where I'm going to go in life.
I feel lucky. Yeah, I lost an arm, but I'm still here. I'm, you know, there's John, he's not here anymore. He had a wife and I just don't understand. When the attack came from my side, why I was allowed to survive it and he wasn't?
You know, I don't think it's fair. But I think it about it a lot. It is always there. It is always something that I don't want to forget either, because it has changed my life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: At least 1,262 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq so far. And nearly 10,000 troops have been wounded in hostile action over there.
PFC Lindy England's own words may come back to haunt her at her Abu Ghuraib prison trial. A military judge in North Carolina says prosecutors can use statements by England. In those statements she admitted to taking part in several incidents of humiliation with Iraqi prisoners and she said she did it just for fun.
That is key, because England later claimed she and others were ordered by military intelligence to soften up prisoners for interrogation.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, caught on tape, at 40 minutes past, a Florida teacher and the student she is accused of having sex with talking on the phone.
At 48 minutes after, medicated nation. What Americans are doing more of these days than ever.
And our question of the morning: Come on, do you really care if athletes use performance enhancing drugs?
But first here is what else is making news this Friday.
(GRAPHIC WITH HEADLINES)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK. It is 5:45 Eastern.
Scott Peterson's attorney is expected to call more people today who will try to persuade a jury to save his life. So far family and friends have been telling the jury how devastated they would be if Peterson were sentenced to death for the killing his wife and unborn child.
Yesterday his sister-in-law testified. She recalled a pair of slippers he once gave Laci Peterson for Christmas and Peterson cried when she talked about the first time she met his wife Laci. Janie Peterson testified, and I quote, "She took my breath away. She was just bubbly and fun and energetic and beautiful."
We'll talk to Kendall Coffey about this in the 6 o'clock hour of DAYBREAK.
To Tampa, Florida, where lawyers plan to use an insanity defense for a middle school teacher charged with having sex with 14 year old boy. Crucial to the case are taped phone calls monitored by police. CNN's Brian Todd has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Deborah Lafave has never spoken publicly, but in audiotapes just released by prosecutors the suspended Tampa area middle school teacher is heard speaking on the phone with the then-14 year old boy she is accused of having a sexual affair with.
The prosecutor's office tells CNN the boy's voice has been altered to protect his identity. Law enforcement sources tell CNN police taped calls by the 14 year old to Lafave, with his consent, between June 18 and June 21, of this year. In one conversation they discuss a call that Lafave had made to the boy's mother.
(BEGIN AUDIOTAPE)
LAFAVE: "Yeah, I called her when I got home last night."
TODD: The boy replies, "Oh, how did that go?"
LAFAVE: "It was, I mean, I just told her, I was like, you know, I'm sorry, bad judgment and I should've double-check with you, blah, blah, blah..."
TODD: The boys says, "Uh-huh, well I guess I don't think we should be going to Ocala anymore."
LAFAVE: "No. Nooo."
TODD: The boy, "But everything went smooth in the portable..."
And a moment later he says, "so, whatever, if we decide to do anything again, then that should probably be our place for now."
LAFAVE: "That's true...are you, OK?"
TODD: Lafave faces charges of lewd and lascivious acts with a child, for allegedly having sex with a teenager in, among other places, a portable school classroom and inside and SUV in Ocala, Florida, while the boy's 15-year-old cousin was driving.
In another call, they discuss birth control. The boy says, "Like, I don't want you to, like, get pregnant or anything. I was just thinking about it and I was just thinking if next time, now that we've had sex about three times, if I should use a condom or something."
LAFAVE: "Oh, you're being weird."
TODD (on camera): We tried to contact Deborah Lafave's attorney for reaction to the audiotapes. He didn't return our calls. Her trial is scheduled to begin in April -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Men love their wheels, so why is one car company designing the automobile of the future for women? I think I know. We'll take you live to London to find out.
Plus, our question of the morning: Do you care, really care, that athletes use performance enhancing drugs?
I predicted this one. We're getting a lot of e-mails. E-mail us now, Daybreak@cnn.com. And I'll give you a hint. Most people are saying, I don't care.
This is DAYBREAK for a Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: In "Health Headlines" for you this morning, Americans are popping more pills than ever before. The Department of Health and Human Services says prescription drug use is a record high. The increase is being fueled by a growing demand for anti-depressants, anti-inflammatories, as well as drugs to control cholesterol and blood sugar.
Speaking of drugs, a new study suggests heart attack survivors might do well to begin treatment with a statin drug, such as Lipitor or Zocor, as soon as possible. Researchers studied patients treated for severe chest pain or a heart attack. They found those given statins within 24 hours faired better than those not given the drugs until later.
And if you have ever wondered about the safety of ultra-sounds during pregnancy, a new study says no worries. Australian scientists say the procedure does not harm the unborn babies or restrict the unborn child's growth or development early in life.
For more on this or any other health story turn to our web site, the address, CNN.com/health.
We brought you this story weeks ago about the television news anchorwoman who posed naked for a story. It was part of a mass nude picture that an artist was taking.
Well, the Cleveland, Ohio station held the story for the all important ratings period, known as Sweeps Week. In fact, the nude mass picture was taken in the summertime, they held the story until November, which is Sweeps Week for local television stations.
Well, the anchorwoman, Sharon Reed, is defending her actions, where? On David Letterman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHARON REED, CLEVELAND ACTION TV REPORTER: What better way to do it than do it in the first person? I needed to feel -- laugh, OK, Letterman. OK.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHTER)
DAVID LETTERMAN, THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN: It is an exciting notion, don't you think? What has been the reaction?
(AUDIENCE LAUGHTER)
REED: Well, it is, uh, mixed. Viewers, which this shocked me, overwhelmingly supportive. I had my guard up. I was ready for the backlash, even though I strongly believed in the right to do this and this story. But the viewers, overwhelming -- you know, some of it is crass, what they write. But most of it is articulate. They appreciate the art, they appreciate the courage; and they say, finally, we get a journalist -- they say -- who gives us something real, shares a part of themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: As you might imagine, Cleveland's Action 19 News got its highest ratings ever for Reed's naked news story. If you are wondering how much she showed, it showed her partially disrobing and her entire naked backside, in the spirit of full disclosure.
Volvo says women are the new driving force in auto purchases. So it's latest concept car is all woman, developed exclusively by an all- female team. CNN's Jim Boulden gives us a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): If this is your idea of the closest women get involved with the launch of a new car, Volvo has other ideas.
An all-female project team designed its latest concept car. The Ford-owned luxury brand says women now influence 80 percent of auto purchases. So they must be listened to.
(On camera): What do you think women are looking for that they're not getting now?
LENA EKELUND, VOLVO CARS: Convenience, and that actually is something that both genders look for, but women to a higher extent than men; and a car where you can actually sit and reach at the same time.
BOULDEN (voice over): Seat adjusters are nothing new, but this car has pedals that move closer for a shorter driver. And there is little rest bar for high heels.
Storage is also a big need, so there is room for a laptop. And a portfolio behind the seat to store papers. There is even a little split headrest for a pony tail.
ANNA ROSEN, VOLVO CARS: It is not by women for women, it is by women for everybody. And I mean, we did not want to exclude men. It was a way of including women.
BOULDEN: And forget about looking at the engine, says Volvo. Tomorrow's cars won't need us to tinker, so there is no hood and no spare tire. The car will just e-mail the service station when it needs work.
EKELUND: We can't see any drawbacks, apart if you want to show your neighbor the pretty engine.
BOULDEN (on camera): Some people do. Men especially like to look underneath.
EKELUND: Yes, they do. And we think that the money we spend today on making the engine bay area look pretty, could be better spent.
BOULDEN (voice over): Another feature from Volvo will be exchangeable upholstery to fit your mood or match your clothes.
EKELUND: The exchangeable upholstery actually ranks higher among the men than the women, when we do our surveys.
BOULDEN: Exchangeable upholstery?
EKELUND: Yes.
BOULDEN: Men want that?
EKELUND: Yes, they do that. And they want the easy clean paint. That is their No. 1.
BOULDEN (voice over): And if you are wondering why female drivers want gull winged doors, well, Volvo admits, they just look cool.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOULDEN: And, Carol, Volvo is not afraid to say that if you meet the expectations of women, you far exceed the expectations of men. I will not comment on that. (LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: That is probably a smart thing.
You know, Sarah, our 5 a.m. producer, was really angry with the doors that went up like wings. And Volvo said it did that just because they were cool. But that is really not very convenient for women. You know, you go to the grocery store, you hit the car next to you. So, what's the deal with the doors?
BOULDEN: The idea is that the doors go up and the sill goes down until you can sweep into the car without hitting your shoes on the bottom, without getting your dress or your skirt caught in the door. So, the whole door goes out of your way and you just sweep right into the seat that moves back for you and moves up for you. COSTELLO: I like the image of that, sweeping into your car, and sweeping out. Jim Boulden, thanks for an interesting story this morning.
Here's what is all new in the next hour of DAYBREAK.
Did U2 sell out or is there partnering with Apple's iPod just the next big thing?
Plus, a different kind of love story at the box office this weekend. Tom O'Neil (ph) is here to tell you if it is something you'll want to see.
Also, today's question of the morning: What revolutionary medical operation was performed for the first time on this day 1967? This is the history question.
OK, look at it just a little longer. We'll have the answer for you after a break. This is DAYBREAK for a Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: All right our history trivia question for the morning is: What revolutionary medical operation was performed for the first time on this day 1967?
The answer is: Surgeon Christian Barnard, remember that name, he performed the first human heart transplant in Cape Town, South Africa. The recipient was 53-year-old Lewis Washkanski (ph). Washkanski died 18 days later from double pneumonia, but his heart was functioning normally, until his death.
So, there is the answer.
All right let's get to our e-mail question of the day. Sports and steroids back in the news. "The San Francisco Chronicle" quotes Barry Bonds as saying he used two substances given to him by a trainer -- that trainer -- Bonds says he was not told the substances were steroids. He thought they were, well, something else.
"The Chronicle" reported earlier that New York Yankees slugger Jason Giambi (ph) admitted to taking steroids and growth hormones. He did that in grand jury testimony.
So, our e-mail question of the day: Do you really care that athletes use performance enhancing drugs?
Let's say Jason Giambi (ph) had a great season. Would you really care that he was taking steroids? I mean, they are making ballparks smaller, so that baseball players can hit them out of the park. That is what fans want to see.
We've been getting a lot of e-mail responses. I will read some of them to you know. Most of them go something like this.
"I could care less if they use steroids. I would think they as professionals and human beings would care more about their bodies and health, but I enjoy watching them." This is from Larry from Kentucky.
This is from Chris, from North Carolina. He says, "Performance enhancing drugs should be mandatory in all sports. We pay money to be entertained by the best athletes. This mean, we want to see them dunking, hitting, punching and not just on the injury list."
And this one, from Roger, from Pennsylvania; he says, "Actually, he does care. These men and women are our kids role models. Carol, do you want your kids using drugs? That their heroes use them? That it is OK?"
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