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CNN Live Today
Police Search for Couple Accused of Torturing Children; TV Station Gets Third BTK Killer Postcard; Alberto Gonzales Sworn in as Attorney General
Aired February 04, 2005 - 10:00 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: How about we get started.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Let's do it.
KAGAN: Take a look at what's happening right now in the news.
President Bush is embarking on his second day of campaign-style stumping for his Social Security reform. This morning he's pushing his voluntary privatization plans in Omaha, Nebraska. Live picture there for you from Omaha. Then he travels on to Arkansas and Florida. Yesterday, Mr. Bush made his pitch in North Dakota and Montana.
The nation's new attorney general has arrived at the Justice Department for his first full day on the job, as we look at live pictures once again from Washington, D.C. Alberto Gonzales took the oath yesterday, becoming the first Hispanic to hold the title. Gonzales's Senate confirmation was opposed by three-dozen Democrats, who questioned his role in the administration's policies and the abuse of prisoners and terror detainees.
In Afghanistan, the search is on for a passenger jet, like this one, carrying more than 100 people. Three American women, employees of a Massachusetts company, are believed to have been aboard. The Boeing 737 disappeared from radar east of Kabul during a snowstorm.
The Vatican says Pope John Paul II is recovering well from a respiratory infection and throat spasms that led to his being rushed to the hospital earlier this week. They say he's eating normally and may even be able to deliver a Sunday address from his hospital bed.
And good morning. A happy Friday to you. I'm Daryn Kagan.
SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez.
The manhunt is under way, we should tell you this morning, for a Florida couple accused of a heinous abuse of their children. It turns out that they used pliers, and a hammer, and a stun gun. Investigators are saying those are some of the tools of torture in the hands of this Florida couple you're seeing right there. That's John and Linda Dollar.
And authorities in Citrus County are saying that some of these children were so malnourished that, quote, "They looked like pictures from Auschwitz."
CNN's John Zarrella is joining us now. He's been following the story and he picks it up from here.
Good morning, John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rick, still a lot of unanswered questions. Probably more unanswered questions than there are answers surrounding this entire story. But again, a manhunt is under way nationwide looking for these two people because they are believed to have abused five of the seven children who they were guardians of.
A lot of questions surrounding their whereabouts. They originally came from Tennessee perhaps three or four years ago, lived very quietly in Florida until all of this emerged. And they have been charged in Florida with counts of child abuse and torture of five of the seven children.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Friends and neighbors in this Florida town are stunned by the allegations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can't understand anybody abusing children. It's just very difficult to fathom that someone would do that.
ZARRELLA: Fifty-eight-year-old John Dollar and his 51-year-old wife, Linda, are accused of torturing five of the seven children in their home, ranging in age from 12 to 16. The allegations include: malnourishment, electric shock, pulling toenails out with pliers, binding the kids with chains, and using a hammer to smash their feet.
Police began their investigation two weeks ago, after one of the kids, a 16-year-old boy, was treated at a local hospital. He was bleeding from cuts on his head. And doctors noticed bruises around his neck. But what concerned them most was his weight, just 59 pounds.
GAIL TIERNEY, SPOKESWOMAN, CITRUS CO. SHERIFF DEPT.: I've seen pictures of the children that have been taken in connection with this case. And you know, I mean they have very sweet faces. But when you look at their bodies, I mean it looks like Auschwitz.
ZARRELLA: Two of the children, 14-year-old twin boys, weighed less than 40 pounds each; the weight of a typical 4-year-old. The Dollars are not the children's biological parents, but they are their guardians. The children are now in the custody of Florida's Department of Children and Families.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: Now, police have told us that two of those children were not abused because they were considered the favorites.
Now, what you're looking at there are the -- one of the vehicles that authorities are looking for. That's the gold Lexus with Florida tag DH41D. It may be being pulled behind a motor home. And the motor home's tag number is also a Florida tag U06YAC, also a Florida tag. Police want to get their hands on these people very quickly.
And again, still lots of unanswered questions as to where these children originally came from. In Tennessee, we believe, but that's at this point totally unclear. Did they fly below the radar here in Florida for the three plus four years that they were here, unknown to authorities as to what they were doing?
This morning the police in Citrus County, the sheriff though, did tell me that they believe these children had been abused for several years. Dating back to when though, is unclear at this point. Again the children are all in the custody of Florida's Department of Children and Family Services right now.
Rick, again just an awful terrifying story here in Florida.
SANCHEZ: Let's pick up with those last comments that you made about children in family services in state of Florida. We know they've had a problem in the past. John, is this case in any way related to either state care or foster care?
ZARRELLA: Well, that's the wild card right now. We've got calls out to Florida's Department of Children and Family Service waiting for calls back. We don't know at this point whether they even knew these people existed.
They originally came to Florida. According to police saying they moved to Brandon, which is outside of Tampa. Lived there for two or three years. Then in August moved up to Beverly Hills, Florida, which is in Citrus County about an hour north of Tampa.
So at this point we don't know any of the details as to the chronology of when they left Tennessee, if Tennessee authorities knew where they went, had they come to Florida? So everything is just a wild card right now as to who knew what when.
SANCHEZ: Yes. How they ended up with custody of these children.
ZARRELLA: Right. Right.
SANCHEZ: Which is obviously what you're getting at. John Zarrella, thanks so much for bringing us that story. We appreciate it.
Daryn, over to you.
KAGAN: Now the latest on the chilling story, the BTK killer. He has been a viewer of Kansas television station for about 30 years now. Like some viewers, he likes to write the station. But unlike other viewers, this writer may be linked to eight unsolved killings. A new post card arrived at K-A-K-E, KAKE-Television in Wichita yesterday. It's believed to be from the so-called BTK serial killer.
KAKE anchor Larry Hatteberg joins us from that station's newsroom.
Larry, good morning. LARRY HATTEBERG, ANCHOR, KAKE-TV: Good morning, Daryn.
KAGAN: What can you tell us about this latest post card?
HATTEBERG: We received, Daryn, the post card yesterday morning. And it is the second postcard now that we've received in two weeks. In it he talks directly to the news department here at the station. And he says, "Message: thank you for your quick response on No. 7 and No. 8 communications." And he's talking about the communications we received last week.
Then he says, "Thanks to the news team for their efforts," talking directly to the news director now. And then he talks to our two main anchors Susan and Jeff. And he says, "Sorry about Susan and Jeff's colds," making reference to last week. They made a comment on the air that they both had colds. And so obviously, BTK is watching our channel as he's been doing now for some 30 year and he is communicating with us.
KAGAN: What does he mean thank you about your quick response, or for your quick response?
HATTEBERG: Well, I think in his communication last week, he asked if there was some way that we could communicate with him, to tell him whether or not the police department, or we had received any communication or any package from him. Well, we did receive a package from him that didn't come to the station. It came to a rural location north of Wichita. And we did receive that communication.
So we went on the air that night last week and we said, yes, we did receive that communication. But we were still missing one. Because he referred to communication No. 7, up to that time we had not yet received. So we communicated with him directly on the air, and he apparently appreciates that.
KAGAN: Well, nice to know that. Not that like you're trying to please somebody who is a potential serial killer out there. But to backtrack here, this goes back to the '70s and '80s, these eight unsolved murders that stop in 1986, then nothing is heard from this person until recently.
HATTEBERG: Right. This is the first serial killer ever to go dormant for a decade or so, and then all of a sudden last March he reappeared. And since last March, with yesterday's postcard, there have now been nine communications with him since last March.
But the real question is why did he go dormant for all those years? Did he -- was he in jail? Was he on drugs? Did he go off drugs? What in his life caused him to reappear? And that's the question that nobody can really answer, of course, except BTK himself.
KAGAN: Right. Well, and of course, the big, big question is who is this person? And in an effort to look at suspects, I understand there was some question as to whether he might be a journalist. You yourself gave police a DNA test? HATTEBERG: Yes. I was asked to give a "swab," as they call it, DNA test to police a couple of days ago. So far here in the Wichita area, they have swabbed about 4,000 men. And the police department told me that because I've been doing a lot of network interviews on CNN and some other networks, that people have called into the BTK tip line, and says well, if he's on the network and he's talking so much about it, perhaps he's BTK. So that's the reason they've been swabbing other journalists including me.
KAGAN: Well, I take it the fact that you're here to talk about it. You're in the clear, Larry.
HATTEBERG: Well, I would certainly hope so.
(LAUGHTER)
KAGAN: That is good news. We do appreciate your updates and your insight from Wichita, as this case continues to unfold. Larry Hatteberg from KAKE-Television in Wichita, thank you.
HATTEBERG: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Taking you now to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Jury deliberations have resumed in the child rape trial of defrocked priest Paul Shanley. This case is one of the most notorious in the clergy sex-scandal that shattered Boston's archdiocese for many reasons. Shanley's lawyer argues that the victim's repressed memories of being abused 20 years were planted in his mind by somebody else, and he's just carried them out. The prosecution says the memories are way too vivid to be lies.
Investigators today hope to interview the pilot of that corporate jet that crashed in New Jersey that we told you about earlier in the week. The NTSB found no evidence of ice on the wings of a jet that skidded off the highway Wednesday.
The plane crossed a busy highway before slamming into a warehouse. The pilot and co-pilot remain hospitalized in fair condition. The passenger in the car hit by the plane is in critical condition. The driver of that car says that he sees the accident as a sign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROHAN FOSTER, JET CRASH SURVIVOR: And oh, definitely. Maybe God wanted me to do something why He let me walk away from that. Because that wasn't a car run into my car, or a truck run into my car. That was a plane run me over and I'm still alive. So maybe, I suppose I have something to do. That's why I'm still alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Most people say it was amazing that some passengers were actually literally able to walk out of the plane's wreckage. Some crawled out. Others were pulled out. Witnesses say it was a miracle they all survived. KAGAN: On to another story of survival, John Phipps is out of the hospital now. He's alive to tell the tale of the horrific train crash last week in Southern California. Phipps thought he was going to die, so he used his own blood to express what was most meaning in his life.
Our Ted Rowlands has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While looking for signs of life in the twisted wreckage of a commuter train crash, Los Angeles firefighters came across John Phipps trapped in the twisted rubble.
CAPT. BOB ROSARIO, L.A. FIRE DEPARTMENT: To see a live person trapped inside all this rubble and debris was pretty amazing.
ROWLANDS: After pulling him out, firefighters noticed something, a message written in blood on the back on what was left of a passenger seat. "I love my kids," it said, using the heart sign. Below that also in blood, it read, "I love Leslie."
Eleven people died in the train wreck but John Phipps survived. And in an emotional meeting with his wife, Leslie and children, Shara, Jeremy and Josh, John thanked the firefighters that pulled him out. John, who still has 24 staples in his head, says blood was all over his hand when he wrote the note.
JOHN PHIPPS, TRAIN CRASH SURVIVOR: "I heart Leslie." Then there was a little bar above that. And I thought well, there's plenty of blood. So I wrote, "I heart my kids."
LESLIE PHIPPS, WIFE: It's moving and it's thoughtful, and it's chilling all at the same time to think that you would think I'm going to die here. I could die here. And to think of somebody else is amazing. It really is. And he thought of all of us. And that's just terrific.
PHIPPS: I got to tell my wife and my kids what I thought were going to be my last words. And God blessed me and made sure that they weren't my last words.
ROWLANDS: Words written by a man who, when faced with death, truly appreciated the importance of life.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Looked like that wife got her early Valentine's present.
SANCHEZ: What a story.
KAGAN: Man! SANCHEZ: Well, still to come, another amazing story of survival. Just boars and coconuts; they managed to survive as well. We're going to take to you a remote island where tsunami victims were stranded.
KAGAN: Plus, what kind of plan do you have for retirement? A look at how the proposed change to Social Security could affect you.
SANCHEZ: Also later, we're going be taking you to the Super Bowl, Super Bowl 39 that is. A look at what you can expect during the half time show. No, not again, you're thinking? We'll clear it up for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: From the ravages of the tsunami nearly six weeks ago, now comes a story of survival against the elements and against long odds. Nine people who spent 38 days wandering the remote island off the coast of India, living off what few things they could find.
CNN's report Suhasini Haidar is just back from the Kambal Bay in the Andaman Islands, and she has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUHASINI HAIDAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It's a miracle say officials. Thirty-eight days after the tsunami struck when most have given up any hope of finding any more people alive, one intrepid police search party found nine survivors in a dense forest on a remote island in the Indian Ocean. Four men, two women, and two little girls, a story more remarkable than any reality television show.
The group, all of them original inhabitants of the island, said they ran up a hill when the tsunami struck. They walked for days they say, eating coconuts. And when they thought they could go no farther they met an ancient tribe, called the Shompens, who taught them the basics: how to look for wild berries, how to make a fire, and how to kill and eat wild animals.
News of their discovery has re-energized search and rescue operations here, say officials.
RAM RAMGOPAL KAPSE, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, ANDAMAN ISLAND: Everyday we get some good news and it means that we are still working and we hope that we will get some more missing people.
HAIDAR: More than 5,000 men, women and children are still registered missing in tsunami-hit regions of India. Finding these survivor, say officials renews hope that others may be alive and well in the jungles, too.
Suhasini Haidar, CNN, Kambal Bay the Indian Ocean.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And that was Suhasini Haidar reporting to us. SANCHEZ: We should let you know that we are following a developing story four. Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan should be coming out shortly, we are told. And he may be making some comments on that investigatory commission report released by Paul Volcker yesterday, saying there was, or there certainly seemed to be corruption on the part of U.N. officials in the Oil for Food program with Iraq. We're following it for you and certainly, as soon as it happens you'll see it here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: What you're watching is a rousing applause. For the first time, Alberto Gonzales after being confirmed is coming out to talk to employees. He is now the official attorney general for the United States, so confirmed yesterday on a vote of 60 to 36.
Many Democrats, in fact, objecting to his role in crafting the Bush administration's policy on the treatment of prisoners. But certainly in the end, what stole the day, many of the senators say what's told today is the story of what this man had accomplished throughout his life; seemingly beginning in such a humble way, and then rising to become a judge. And now one of the highest positions in the U.S. cabinet; a position certainly very close to the president. As he was before, where he was acting as the president's counsel. Now replacing John Ashcroft as attorney general of the United States.
KAGAN: Yes. They go back to Texas days, Alberto Gonzales and George Bush. Of course, his nomination not coming without controversy. A number of Democrats, in fact, 36 voting against Alberto Gonzales to be the next attorney general of the United States. A lot objecting to his role in how the Bush administration crafted policies on the treatment of prisoners.
There's this memo that Alberto Gonzales sent to Bush back in January of 2002 that asserted that terrorists captured overseas should not be covered by the Geneva Conventions. He, of course, faced tough grilling about this during his confirmation hearings.
SANCHEZ: Yes. In fact, it was Senator Carl Levin that said that he played a central role in establishing the policy that set the stage for torture and mistreatment of persons. Several other senators said they didn't feel that he wasn't independent enough. They felt that too often he was more beholden to the president, the president's staff, than he was to the American people. So say some of the Democrats who oppose.
Republicans, on the other hand, said that he had represented the administration well during a very difficult time for this country. That he had to make some very difficult decisions. And that his own life story was reason to give this man, or certainly to consider him for such a high position.
KAGAN: Speaking of his life story, it's interesting how this has unfolded. Because for the first -- much of the first administration, for the first term of the Bush administration, many people thought what Alberto Gonzales really wanted was a Supreme Court nomination and to be a justice. No positions opened up there, now there's the attorney general.
SANCHEZ: Well, the question is that still in the offing? Which certainly remains a possibility if a position were to open up some time in the future. He could possibly be nominated as the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice in the history of the United States. He also becomes with this position, the highest-ranking Hispanic ever in the U.S. government, as far as a cabinet position is confirmed.
KAGAN: And as he goes, looks like he's about to step into office, in which I would imagine a very big workload. First, up to the podium. Let's here what he has to say.
SANCHEZ: Saving his last kiss for his wife, by the way. You noticed that.
KAGAN: Smart man.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
ALBERTO GONZALEZ, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL: Thank you very much. I thank you. Thank you very much. I am here with my beautiful wife, Rebecca. And I want to thank you for making us feel at home. Thank you so very much. It is an honor, truly is an honor to be here with you at the Department of Justice. I am grateful to the president for this opportunity.
Let me begin by first thanking General Ashcroft for his lifetime of service and his wonderful leadership that he has provided to this department for the past four years.
During my hearings, America had an opportunity to learn a little bit more about my personal life story. During the hearings of Condee Rice and Carlos Gutierrez, America also had the opportunity to hear the life stories of other Americans. Our stories reflect the American dream. That's what our stories represent. And there are many others in this country that share similar stories, stories of the American dream, about equal opportunity in this country.
And it has historically been the case that it falls upon the shoulders of the attorney general to insure that that dream is available to future generations of American children. And so, for someone who has lived the dream, it is a special privilege to stand here today as the 80-attorney general of the United States of America.
We in the department have an obligation and responsibility to the American people. Obviously the president said the No. 1 priority for this department to protect this country against future act of terrorism. And we will continue to make that our top priority. But we'll do so in a way that is always consistent with our values and consistent with our legal obligations. That will be, of course, the loadstar that will guide us here in our efforts here at the department.
My style of management is basically one of listening. I like to listen to people. And I look forward to the opportunity to meet as many of you as I can...
SANCHEZ: And if you're struck by anything, it's the unassuming nature of the new attorney general. He is a soft-spoken man, a man of few words, but certainly, a legal scholar as described by most of the people who follow his career for quite some time.
Once again, Alberto Gonzales becoming the new attorney general of the United States, replacing John Ashcroft.
We're going to take a break. A lot more news just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired February 4, 2005 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: How about we get started.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Let's do it.
KAGAN: Take a look at what's happening right now in the news.
President Bush is embarking on his second day of campaign-style stumping for his Social Security reform. This morning he's pushing his voluntary privatization plans in Omaha, Nebraska. Live picture there for you from Omaha. Then he travels on to Arkansas and Florida. Yesterday, Mr. Bush made his pitch in North Dakota and Montana.
The nation's new attorney general has arrived at the Justice Department for his first full day on the job, as we look at live pictures once again from Washington, D.C. Alberto Gonzales took the oath yesterday, becoming the first Hispanic to hold the title. Gonzales's Senate confirmation was opposed by three-dozen Democrats, who questioned his role in the administration's policies and the abuse of prisoners and terror detainees.
In Afghanistan, the search is on for a passenger jet, like this one, carrying more than 100 people. Three American women, employees of a Massachusetts company, are believed to have been aboard. The Boeing 737 disappeared from radar east of Kabul during a snowstorm.
The Vatican says Pope John Paul II is recovering well from a respiratory infection and throat spasms that led to his being rushed to the hospital earlier this week. They say he's eating normally and may even be able to deliver a Sunday address from his hospital bed.
And good morning. A happy Friday to you. I'm Daryn Kagan.
SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez.
The manhunt is under way, we should tell you this morning, for a Florida couple accused of a heinous abuse of their children. It turns out that they used pliers, and a hammer, and a stun gun. Investigators are saying those are some of the tools of torture in the hands of this Florida couple you're seeing right there. That's John and Linda Dollar.
And authorities in Citrus County are saying that some of these children were so malnourished that, quote, "They looked like pictures from Auschwitz."
CNN's John Zarrella is joining us now. He's been following the story and he picks it up from here.
Good morning, John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rick, still a lot of unanswered questions. Probably more unanswered questions than there are answers surrounding this entire story. But again, a manhunt is under way nationwide looking for these two people because they are believed to have abused five of the seven children who they were guardians of.
A lot of questions surrounding their whereabouts. They originally came from Tennessee perhaps three or four years ago, lived very quietly in Florida until all of this emerged. And they have been charged in Florida with counts of child abuse and torture of five of the seven children.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Friends and neighbors in this Florida town are stunned by the allegations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can't understand anybody abusing children. It's just very difficult to fathom that someone would do that.
ZARRELLA: Fifty-eight-year-old John Dollar and his 51-year-old wife, Linda, are accused of torturing five of the seven children in their home, ranging in age from 12 to 16. The allegations include: malnourishment, electric shock, pulling toenails out with pliers, binding the kids with chains, and using a hammer to smash their feet.
Police began their investigation two weeks ago, after one of the kids, a 16-year-old boy, was treated at a local hospital. He was bleeding from cuts on his head. And doctors noticed bruises around his neck. But what concerned them most was his weight, just 59 pounds.
GAIL TIERNEY, SPOKESWOMAN, CITRUS CO. SHERIFF DEPT.: I've seen pictures of the children that have been taken in connection with this case. And you know, I mean they have very sweet faces. But when you look at their bodies, I mean it looks like Auschwitz.
ZARRELLA: Two of the children, 14-year-old twin boys, weighed less than 40 pounds each; the weight of a typical 4-year-old. The Dollars are not the children's biological parents, but they are their guardians. The children are now in the custody of Florida's Department of Children and Families.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: Now, police have told us that two of those children were not abused because they were considered the favorites.
Now, what you're looking at there are the -- one of the vehicles that authorities are looking for. That's the gold Lexus with Florida tag DH41D. It may be being pulled behind a motor home. And the motor home's tag number is also a Florida tag U06YAC, also a Florida tag. Police want to get their hands on these people very quickly.
And again, still lots of unanswered questions as to where these children originally came from. In Tennessee, we believe, but that's at this point totally unclear. Did they fly below the radar here in Florida for the three plus four years that they were here, unknown to authorities as to what they were doing?
This morning the police in Citrus County, the sheriff though, did tell me that they believe these children had been abused for several years. Dating back to when though, is unclear at this point. Again the children are all in the custody of Florida's Department of Children and Family Services right now.
Rick, again just an awful terrifying story here in Florida.
SANCHEZ: Let's pick up with those last comments that you made about children in family services in state of Florida. We know they've had a problem in the past. John, is this case in any way related to either state care or foster care?
ZARRELLA: Well, that's the wild card right now. We've got calls out to Florida's Department of Children and Family Service waiting for calls back. We don't know at this point whether they even knew these people existed.
They originally came to Florida. According to police saying they moved to Brandon, which is outside of Tampa. Lived there for two or three years. Then in August moved up to Beverly Hills, Florida, which is in Citrus County about an hour north of Tampa.
So at this point we don't know any of the details as to the chronology of when they left Tennessee, if Tennessee authorities knew where they went, had they come to Florida? So everything is just a wild card right now as to who knew what when.
SANCHEZ: Yes. How they ended up with custody of these children.
ZARRELLA: Right. Right.
SANCHEZ: Which is obviously what you're getting at. John Zarrella, thanks so much for bringing us that story. We appreciate it.
Daryn, over to you.
KAGAN: Now the latest on the chilling story, the BTK killer. He has been a viewer of Kansas television station for about 30 years now. Like some viewers, he likes to write the station. But unlike other viewers, this writer may be linked to eight unsolved killings. A new post card arrived at K-A-K-E, KAKE-Television in Wichita yesterday. It's believed to be from the so-called BTK serial killer.
KAKE anchor Larry Hatteberg joins us from that station's newsroom.
Larry, good morning. LARRY HATTEBERG, ANCHOR, KAKE-TV: Good morning, Daryn.
KAGAN: What can you tell us about this latest post card?
HATTEBERG: We received, Daryn, the post card yesterday morning. And it is the second postcard now that we've received in two weeks. In it he talks directly to the news department here at the station. And he says, "Message: thank you for your quick response on No. 7 and No. 8 communications." And he's talking about the communications we received last week.
Then he says, "Thanks to the news team for their efforts," talking directly to the news director now. And then he talks to our two main anchors Susan and Jeff. And he says, "Sorry about Susan and Jeff's colds," making reference to last week. They made a comment on the air that they both had colds. And so obviously, BTK is watching our channel as he's been doing now for some 30 year and he is communicating with us.
KAGAN: What does he mean thank you about your quick response, or for your quick response?
HATTEBERG: Well, I think in his communication last week, he asked if there was some way that we could communicate with him, to tell him whether or not the police department, or we had received any communication or any package from him. Well, we did receive a package from him that didn't come to the station. It came to a rural location north of Wichita. And we did receive that communication.
So we went on the air that night last week and we said, yes, we did receive that communication. But we were still missing one. Because he referred to communication No. 7, up to that time we had not yet received. So we communicated with him directly on the air, and he apparently appreciates that.
KAGAN: Well, nice to know that. Not that like you're trying to please somebody who is a potential serial killer out there. But to backtrack here, this goes back to the '70s and '80s, these eight unsolved murders that stop in 1986, then nothing is heard from this person until recently.
HATTEBERG: Right. This is the first serial killer ever to go dormant for a decade or so, and then all of a sudden last March he reappeared. And since last March, with yesterday's postcard, there have now been nine communications with him since last March.
But the real question is why did he go dormant for all those years? Did he -- was he in jail? Was he on drugs? Did he go off drugs? What in his life caused him to reappear? And that's the question that nobody can really answer, of course, except BTK himself.
KAGAN: Right. Well, and of course, the big, big question is who is this person? And in an effort to look at suspects, I understand there was some question as to whether he might be a journalist. You yourself gave police a DNA test? HATTEBERG: Yes. I was asked to give a "swab," as they call it, DNA test to police a couple of days ago. So far here in the Wichita area, they have swabbed about 4,000 men. And the police department told me that because I've been doing a lot of network interviews on CNN and some other networks, that people have called into the BTK tip line, and says well, if he's on the network and he's talking so much about it, perhaps he's BTK. So that's the reason they've been swabbing other journalists including me.
KAGAN: Well, I take it the fact that you're here to talk about it. You're in the clear, Larry.
HATTEBERG: Well, I would certainly hope so.
(LAUGHTER)
KAGAN: That is good news. We do appreciate your updates and your insight from Wichita, as this case continues to unfold. Larry Hatteberg from KAKE-Television in Wichita, thank you.
HATTEBERG: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Taking you now to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Jury deliberations have resumed in the child rape trial of defrocked priest Paul Shanley. This case is one of the most notorious in the clergy sex-scandal that shattered Boston's archdiocese for many reasons. Shanley's lawyer argues that the victim's repressed memories of being abused 20 years were planted in his mind by somebody else, and he's just carried them out. The prosecution says the memories are way too vivid to be lies.
Investigators today hope to interview the pilot of that corporate jet that crashed in New Jersey that we told you about earlier in the week. The NTSB found no evidence of ice on the wings of a jet that skidded off the highway Wednesday.
The plane crossed a busy highway before slamming into a warehouse. The pilot and co-pilot remain hospitalized in fair condition. The passenger in the car hit by the plane is in critical condition. The driver of that car says that he sees the accident as a sign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROHAN FOSTER, JET CRASH SURVIVOR: And oh, definitely. Maybe God wanted me to do something why He let me walk away from that. Because that wasn't a car run into my car, or a truck run into my car. That was a plane run me over and I'm still alive. So maybe, I suppose I have something to do. That's why I'm still alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Most people say it was amazing that some passengers were actually literally able to walk out of the plane's wreckage. Some crawled out. Others were pulled out. Witnesses say it was a miracle they all survived. KAGAN: On to another story of survival, John Phipps is out of the hospital now. He's alive to tell the tale of the horrific train crash last week in Southern California. Phipps thought he was going to die, so he used his own blood to express what was most meaning in his life.
Our Ted Rowlands has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While looking for signs of life in the twisted wreckage of a commuter train crash, Los Angeles firefighters came across John Phipps trapped in the twisted rubble.
CAPT. BOB ROSARIO, L.A. FIRE DEPARTMENT: To see a live person trapped inside all this rubble and debris was pretty amazing.
ROWLANDS: After pulling him out, firefighters noticed something, a message written in blood on the back on what was left of a passenger seat. "I love my kids," it said, using the heart sign. Below that also in blood, it read, "I love Leslie."
Eleven people died in the train wreck but John Phipps survived. And in an emotional meeting with his wife, Leslie and children, Shara, Jeremy and Josh, John thanked the firefighters that pulled him out. John, who still has 24 staples in his head, says blood was all over his hand when he wrote the note.
JOHN PHIPPS, TRAIN CRASH SURVIVOR: "I heart Leslie." Then there was a little bar above that. And I thought well, there's plenty of blood. So I wrote, "I heart my kids."
LESLIE PHIPPS, WIFE: It's moving and it's thoughtful, and it's chilling all at the same time to think that you would think I'm going to die here. I could die here. And to think of somebody else is amazing. It really is. And he thought of all of us. And that's just terrific.
PHIPPS: I got to tell my wife and my kids what I thought were going to be my last words. And God blessed me and made sure that they weren't my last words.
ROWLANDS: Words written by a man who, when faced with death, truly appreciated the importance of life.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Looked like that wife got her early Valentine's present.
SANCHEZ: What a story.
KAGAN: Man! SANCHEZ: Well, still to come, another amazing story of survival. Just boars and coconuts; they managed to survive as well. We're going to take to you a remote island where tsunami victims were stranded.
KAGAN: Plus, what kind of plan do you have for retirement? A look at how the proposed change to Social Security could affect you.
SANCHEZ: Also later, we're going be taking you to the Super Bowl, Super Bowl 39 that is. A look at what you can expect during the half time show. No, not again, you're thinking? We'll clear it up for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: From the ravages of the tsunami nearly six weeks ago, now comes a story of survival against the elements and against long odds. Nine people who spent 38 days wandering the remote island off the coast of India, living off what few things they could find.
CNN's report Suhasini Haidar is just back from the Kambal Bay in the Andaman Islands, and she has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUHASINI HAIDAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It's a miracle say officials. Thirty-eight days after the tsunami struck when most have given up any hope of finding any more people alive, one intrepid police search party found nine survivors in a dense forest on a remote island in the Indian Ocean. Four men, two women, and two little girls, a story more remarkable than any reality television show.
The group, all of them original inhabitants of the island, said they ran up a hill when the tsunami struck. They walked for days they say, eating coconuts. And when they thought they could go no farther they met an ancient tribe, called the Shompens, who taught them the basics: how to look for wild berries, how to make a fire, and how to kill and eat wild animals.
News of their discovery has re-energized search and rescue operations here, say officials.
RAM RAMGOPAL KAPSE, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, ANDAMAN ISLAND: Everyday we get some good news and it means that we are still working and we hope that we will get some more missing people.
HAIDAR: More than 5,000 men, women and children are still registered missing in tsunami-hit regions of India. Finding these survivor, say officials renews hope that others may be alive and well in the jungles, too.
Suhasini Haidar, CNN, Kambal Bay the Indian Ocean.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And that was Suhasini Haidar reporting to us. SANCHEZ: We should let you know that we are following a developing story four. Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan should be coming out shortly, we are told. And he may be making some comments on that investigatory commission report released by Paul Volcker yesterday, saying there was, or there certainly seemed to be corruption on the part of U.N. officials in the Oil for Food program with Iraq. We're following it for you and certainly, as soon as it happens you'll see it here on CNN.
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SANCHEZ: What you're watching is a rousing applause. For the first time, Alberto Gonzales after being confirmed is coming out to talk to employees. He is now the official attorney general for the United States, so confirmed yesterday on a vote of 60 to 36.
Many Democrats, in fact, objecting to his role in crafting the Bush administration's policy on the treatment of prisoners. But certainly in the end, what stole the day, many of the senators say what's told today is the story of what this man had accomplished throughout his life; seemingly beginning in such a humble way, and then rising to become a judge. And now one of the highest positions in the U.S. cabinet; a position certainly very close to the president. As he was before, where he was acting as the president's counsel. Now replacing John Ashcroft as attorney general of the United States.
KAGAN: Yes. They go back to Texas days, Alberto Gonzales and George Bush. Of course, his nomination not coming without controversy. A number of Democrats, in fact, 36 voting against Alberto Gonzales to be the next attorney general of the United States. A lot objecting to his role in how the Bush administration crafted policies on the treatment of prisoners.
There's this memo that Alberto Gonzales sent to Bush back in January of 2002 that asserted that terrorists captured overseas should not be covered by the Geneva Conventions. He, of course, faced tough grilling about this during his confirmation hearings.
SANCHEZ: Yes. In fact, it was Senator Carl Levin that said that he played a central role in establishing the policy that set the stage for torture and mistreatment of persons. Several other senators said they didn't feel that he wasn't independent enough. They felt that too often he was more beholden to the president, the president's staff, than he was to the American people. So say some of the Democrats who oppose.
Republicans, on the other hand, said that he had represented the administration well during a very difficult time for this country. That he had to make some very difficult decisions. And that his own life story was reason to give this man, or certainly to consider him for such a high position.
KAGAN: Speaking of his life story, it's interesting how this has unfolded. Because for the first -- much of the first administration, for the first term of the Bush administration, many people thought what Alberto Gonzales really wanted was a Supreme Court nomination and to be a justice. No positions opened up there, now there's the attorney general.
SANCHEZ: Well, the question is that still in the offing? Which certainly remains a possibility if a position were to open up some time in the future. He could possibly be nominated as the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice in the history of the United States. He also becomes with this position, the highest-ranking Hispanic ever in the U.S. government, as far as a cabinet position is confirmed.
KAGAN: And as he goes, looks like he's about to step into office, in which I would imagine a very big workload. First, up to the podium. Let's here what he has to say.
SANCHEZ: Saving his last kiss for his wife, by the way. You noticed that.
KAGAN: Smart man.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
ALBERTO GONZALEZ, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL: Thank you very much. I thank you. Thank you very much. I am here with my beautiful wife, Rebecca. And I want to thank you for making us feel at home. Thank you so very much. It is an honor, truly is an honor to be here with you at the Department of Justice. I am grateful to the president for this opportunity.
Let me begin by first thanking General Ashcroft for his lifetime of service and his wonderful leadership that he has provided to this department for the past four years.
During my hearings, America had an opportunity to learn a little bit more about my personal life story. During the hearings of Condee Rice and Carlos Gutierrez, America also had the opportunity to hear the life stories of other Americans. Our stories reflect the American dream. That's what our stories represent. And there are many others in this country that share similar stories, stories of the American dream, about equal opportunity in this country.
And it has historically been the case that it falls upon the shoulders of the attorney general to insure that that dream is available to future generations of American children. And so, for someone who has lived the dream, it is a special privilege to stand here today as the 80-attorney general of the United States of America.
We in the department have an obligation and responsibility to the American people. Obviously the president said the No. 1 priority for this department to protect this country against future act of terrorism. And we will continue to make that our top priority. But we'll do so in a way that is always consistent with our values and consistent with our legal obligations. That will be, of course, the loadstar that will guide us here in our efforts here at the department.
My style of management is basically one of listening. I like to listen to people. And I look forward to the opportunity to meet as many of you as I can...
SANCHEZ: And if you're struck by anything, it's the unassuming nature of the new attorney general. He is a soft-spoken man, a man of few words, but certainly, a legal scholar as described by most of the people who follow his career for quite some time.
Once again, Alberto Gonzales becoming the new attorney general of the United States, replacing John Ashcroft.
We're going to take a break. A lot more news just ahead.
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