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American Morning
Beirut Explosion Kills Ex-Lebanese Prime Minister; Mass Suicide Pact?; Interview with Former CIA Director James Woolsey
Aired February 14, 2005 - 07:31 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's under way here in New York City. Welcome back, everybody. It's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Here's a question for you: Is the U.S. sending high-tech spy planes into Iran? And would that be a sign, in fact, that the military is scouting targets for airstrikes? This morning, we talk with former CIA director James Woolsey. That's just ahead.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also, police apparently are learning a whole lot more about the prime suspect in a bizarre Valentine's Day suicide pact. Chat room records apparently showing a common thread, how the women were approached, what they were told to do. And we'll get a report on that on this Valentine's Day in a moment.
In the meantime, though, this breaking news out of the Middle East. We want to get to that.
A massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, this morning, killing the former Lebanese prime minister and perhaps the most popular politician in the entire country. The destruction at the city -- the heart of the city, though, is said to be enormous.
Brent Sadler, our bureau chief in Beirut, joins us by telephone.
Brent -- what happened? And why would Rafik Hariri be a target in this?
BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF: First of all, Bill, a huge explosion. This was massive by any scale in terms of what I've seen in 25 years of war reporting. This has devastated an area on the seafront in a prestigious part of the city.
Now, it's confirmed five times Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who turned 60 just a few months ago, was killed in that blast, along with one of his most senior bodyguards.
Now, Rafik Hariri is a larger-than-life figure, not just here in Lebanon, but in the Middle East and beyond. He is a very, very close personal friend of the French president, Jacques Chirac. He's also on good terms with U.S. President George W. Bush. He's been a guest at the White House, a repeated guest at the Elysee palace in Paris.
He is a dominant Sunni Muslim political figure here in Lebanon. He is not, by any means, Bill, the most popular figure here. He does have many political opponents in this country. However, Lebanon has been the scene of vicious political infighting for many weeks now, leading up to a parliamentary election in May. There was an assassination attempt a few months ago against a leading opponent of the pro-Syrian government here, Marwan Hamadeh, a Druze politician, survived that blast.
This attack appeared to be aimed directly at the Rafik Hariri convoy. It's a very heavily-armed convoy under any circumstances that had some of the latest high-tech anti-car bomb devices on board his vehicle. Nevertheless, the scale of this explosion was sufficient to kill Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
He has been credited internationally by the United Nations only last September with helping to -- leading the effort, rather, to reconstruct Lebanon, particularly the downtown town area of this city. But he has been on good and sometimes bad terms with Lebanon's powerful neighbor, the Syrians and the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Syria under growing international pressure, led by the U.S. and France, to quit its troops in Lebanon, to withdraw Syrian troops from Lebanon, and to stop accusing the U.S. and France of meddling, pulling the strings in Lebanese affairs.
This is a seismic event, not just on the Lebanese political scene, but also with neighboring Syria and the region as a whole. Rafik Hariri was one of the most well-connected politicians in Middle East and beyond -- Bill.
HEMMER: Bill, a quick question. Threats against his life, do you know of any?
SADLER: There have been no specific threats that I of against Rafik Hariri's life, but I do know of threats that have been made against some of his allies, and most recently some of whom have been considering the possibility of packing up and leaving this country. That I do know of in recent weeks. Whether any direct threats recently against Hariri, we do not know. But in items of the fallout from this, this will be significant -- Bill.
HEMMER: Brent Sadler, thanks. Our Beirut bureau chief there working that story.
As Brent described there, a seismic event for the Middle East in terms of politics. A larger-than-life figure not just in Lebanon, but also throughout the Middle East. More in this story as we go throughout the morning. It's still breaking now from Beirut -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Other headlines now with Heidi Collins.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, guys. And other explosions to talk about in a different place as well. Good morning to you once again, everybody.
"Now in the News." Three powerful explosions rocking the southern Philippines. Police officials report at least three people are dead, many others wounded. We are going to have more details on this just as soon as they become available to us.
Meanwhile, here in the United States, Alberto Gonzales is set to be sworn in today as the country's first Hispanic attorney general. The ceremony is set to take place at the Justice Department in about two hours. Gonzales took his oath of office from Vice President Dick Cheney earlier this month.
Meanwhile, a full Senate will debate the nomination of Michael Chertoff as the new homeland security secretary. He is expected to be approved in a vote tomorrow.
In Charleston, South Carolina, the fate of a teenager whose lawyers say he killed his grandparents while under the influence of the antidepressant Zoloft will soon be in the hands of a jury. Closing arguments in the trial of Christopher Pittman, now 15 years old, are set for today. If convicted, Pittman could spend the rest of his life in prison or in a mental institution.
And people in Eastern Arizona are working to repair damage from a winter storm there. Heavy rain has flooded homes and forced dozens of families to evacuate. Video from the area shows the river eating away at people's yards. Flooded rivers also swallowed roads and at least one car. There are no reports of major injuries. But the bad news is another round of rain or snow is expected later this week. We don't often hear about snowstorms in Arizona.
HEMMER: We're going to get our own dose today, though.
COLLINS: I think we are.
HEMMER: Stay tuned. Thank you, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right.
O'BRIEN: Thanks.
HEMMER: The investigation into a suspected Valentine's Day suicide pact uncovers new information about the man accused of planning it.
For more, out to Oregon and Kimberly Osais up early this morning there.
Good morning -- Kimberly.
KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Bill.
Well, authorities are now revealing that there are some serious sexual overtones to this mass Internet suicide pact. And, of course, today is Valentine's Day, the day that this was going to be carried out. Authorities do believe that the plan has been averted, although they're keeping a close eye on the situation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have anything to say?
OSIAS (voice over): Authorities say 26-year-old Gerald Krein has been targeting women on the Internet for years, soliciting sex and suicide, most recent a group plan that started back in December on a Yahoo site called "Suicide Party 2005."
Investigators are beginning to connect the dots. They noticed a common theme. Krein targeted mostly women and instant messaged them about the specifics of the suicides: hanging themselves on Valentine's Day naked. When Internet chat turned towards murder, four female tipsters contacted police.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When he started talking about the woman and her kids is what freaked me out and made me wonder if he was telling the truth. And then he started getting into, like, really grave details.
OSIAS: At least 32 women spanning several states, Canada and England are believed to be involved.
EDWIN CALEB, KLAMATH COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It's definitely not a hoax. I mean, I suppose inside everybody's minds they could have said ha, ha, ha, we weren't really going to do this, but it's not a hoax. It's there in black and white.
OSIAS: Black and white photo copies with Krein's instant message conversation with one woman. "Do you want to hang?" "No." "Do you want to die in the nude?" "No." Then she says, "This sounds more perverted than anything."
TIM EVINGER, KLAMATH COUNTY SHERIFF: He identifies women in the chat rooms and starts targeting them is what it appears. And also indicates that he would like them to do maybe some sex acts or something maybe for his own gratification.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OSIAS: Krein remains behind bars in the Klamath County jail on $100,000 bond. A grand jury will convene here in the courtroom later this morning. They will consider additional charges against Krein, who has already been charged with solicitation to commit murder -- Bill.
HEMMER: A strange twist there from Oregon this morning. Thanks, Kimberly -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: It's time to take a look at the weather this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Well, for the drivers who think the Hummer is just not big enough, meet the new bad boy. Andy has that in a moment here, back to "Minding Your Business."
O'BRIEN: Plus, J.Lo and Marc Anthony. Guess what? They revealed their romance at the Grammys. It's something we all knew about already. But after hearing the duet, maybe actually they should have kept it under wraps. "90-Second Pop" is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: U.S. officials are sending mixed signals in response to a "Washington Post" report that says that the Pentagon has been using surveillance drones over Iran. Senior military sources tell CNN they have no knowledge of any spying on Iran. The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee would not confirm the report, but he didn't really deny it either.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R), KANSAS: I think we ought to use every intelligence capability that we have to collect the best intelligence that we can. And we're not flying drones. Drones just fly. They use them as targets. We are talking about UAVs -- unmanned aerial vehicles -- that have capability to collect intelligence. And I think we ought to use every capability that we can to determine where we are.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That's Senator Pat Roberts.
Joining us this morning, though, is former CIA Director Jim Woolsey.
It's nice to see you, sir. Thank you very for talking with us.
JAMES WOOLSEY, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: It's good to be with you, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: As we've just heard, military officials are disputing the story about the drones. There are others, government sources high level that confirmed the story, in fact, to CNN. You heard Pat Roberts sort of on the fence about it. Would it surprise you, in fact, if there were drones that were flying over Iran?
WOOLSEY: No. The senator made a linguistic, important distinction. Unmanned aerial vehicles are the more modern terminology, and they probably have reconnaissance capability.
And I think it's a good idea if the U.S. government, some part of it, is doing that. The Iranians have a major nuclear weapons program, and the Iranian mullahs ought to hope that unmanned aerial vehicles taking pictures or otherwise are the only thing that are flying over Iran. O'BRIEN: How effectively can they monitor what's going on in Iran? And how worthwhile is the intelligence that, in fact, these drones may be getting?
WOOLSEY: Well, it's hard to tell without knowing exactly what kinds of sensors they have on them, assuming they are, in fact, flying. I have no inside knowledge on this. But we really do need to keep tabs as well as we can on this Iranian nuclear weapons program.
The Iranians, by going into fuel processing and enrichment and heavy water and all of this, clearly have a nuclear weapons program. It's sort of as if they wanted a few cars, reactors, analogous to reactors for electricity production. And they were building a factory that's capable of producing ballistic missiles in cars. And they said, look, we really have to do this in order to have the cars.
They are really outrageously moving solidly toward a major nuclear weapons program. And we, and all other neighboring countries that don't want them to have that, ought to do everything we can to keep tabs on what's going on.
O'BRIEN: Before we get to my next question I just want to show you -- well, as we've been showing people videotape, there's been a little life bug up there, but obviously it's file tape of some of the nuclear weaponry that you've been discussing.
You say keep tabs on. And if, indeed, the drones are, in fact, monitoring Iran, what does that say to you? Does that say to you it's just monitoring, it's partly intimidation? Or does it say this is preparation and good preparation for eventual military action?
WOOLSEY: Well, if we are flying unmanned aerial vehicles for reconnaissance purposes over Iran, it's likely that they know about it. And I don't think the principal purpose would be intimidation. It would probably be to collect information. But this is a very dangerous program that the Iranians mullahs are embarked on. And anything that we can do to peacefully get them to turn away it from we ought to do.
O'BRIEN: Peacefully at this point, at least. Former CIA director James Woolsey joining us. Thank you very much, sir. Appreciate your insight.
WOOLSEY: Thank you.
It's time to check into the "Question of the Day," which I guess is completely on a different vein but not on a much lighter note.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's weaponry of a different sort, if you will. The maker of Taser stun guns are launching a major marketing campaign for a civilian model of the weapon that's used by the police and the military. The home model would sell for about $1,000. It would be less powerful than the police version. It would have a range of about 15 feet and would stun an intruder for a period of 30 seconds. Taser's announcements comes after a series of critical reports about the stun guns. The SEC is investigating charges the company made misleading statements about the safety of the weapon. The company would like to see Taser stun guns replace firearms as the way of protecting your home.
That 's the question: Would you buy a Taser stun gun for your home?
D.W. in Crescent City, California: "No, I would not buy a Taser stun gun. The AK47 and Glock Magnum that I have are adequate firepower for my neighborhood."
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Indeed.
CAFFERTY: Robert in Tacoma writes: "I think if I had one, I would probably use it on my neighbor. So it probably isn't a good idea. I just don't know which is worse. I have a huge softball bat that goes with me when I need to make my point clear. Today, I have back surgery, so I'll have to be quiet for a while."
Robert, this is more than we want to know. A little bit is fine.
Johnny in Vicksburg: "I'm opposed to the purchase and harboring of any gun in the home, for surely sooner or later a Taser gun would fall into the hands of children with dire consequences."
Jerry in Alpharetta, Georgia: "Stun guns, like handguns, are for criminals. There is nothing more effective than an old-fashioned 12- gauge for defending the home turf, and you don't have to be a good shot either."
And Rex in Toronto writes: "Jack, in Canada we don't even lock our doors, much less contemplate electrocuting our neighbors. What in the hell is wrong with you people?"
I don't know, Rex.
SERWER: Yes, that's a good question.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Yes, it is.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
Picking up a Grammy can help pick up music success. Boy, we've seen this time and time again, haven't we? And we'll see the fallout maybe after last night.
Good morning to you.
SERWER: Good morning to you.
No, it works in the record business, unlike in the movie business, where nominations don't make the sales of the movies pick up as much. But in the music business, it works.
First of all, we want to talk about the album of the year, which is Ray Charles' "Genius Loves Company." You can see right here. This is what Jack listens to every morning, by the way, or at least many mornings.
And a very unusual story behind this album. The record label is Concord, which is a very small label that's owned by Norman Lear, the television producer. And it was distributed mostly in Starbucks. So, this is very interesting. They sold three million copies of this album. A third of them were sold in Starbucks. It was a huge hit. And the last time Ray Charles had an album in the top 10 was in 1964. So, you can see new power of this distribution model selling it in Starbucks.
CAFFERTY: Was that by any chance the "Modern Sounds in County and Western Music?"
SERWER: It was.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
SERWER: Perhaps your favorite album of all time.
CAFFERTY: Yes, if you like Ray Charles, this was the greatest thing he ever did was "Modern Sounds in Country and Western" -- this duet thing he did was recorded very late in his life, and his voice, quite frankly, isn't as strong on it as it as earlier.
SERWER: Right.
CAFFERTY: Understandably so. He was an old man. But the country and western music album is just sensational.
SERWER: And, of course, his untimely death spurred sale of the movie as well.
O'BRIEN: Starbucks has a business model for distribution. That's fascinating.
SERWER: It is. And they're going to be doing it more and more here music as their record label.
And just quickly, just to have some numbers up here to show you how much these nominations can boost sales. You can see there, "O Brother" soundtrack up 260 percent. Norah Jones -- and these are big numbers. It was 144,000, and then she sold 621,000 after she got the award.
HEMMER: Nobody knew about Norah Jones until the Grammys. It was huge.
SERWER: That's right. Well, that was big bump. And then Outkast, another one of Jack's favorites. And then we'll see about Ray Charles.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: Someone I can identify with.
SERWER: Outkast. Outkast.
CAFFERTY: Outkast.
SERWER: Outkast.
O'BRIEN: We're going to be talking more about the Grammys coming up on "90-Second Pop". In fact, Usher was poised to be the big star of the Grammys, but in the end he was, in fact, overshadowed. "90- Second Pop" is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: I should be a rapper, you know. I can get into that. Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. It is the morning after music's biggest night. And it's time for a special Grammy edition of "90-Second Pop".
Joining us this morning, Andy Borowitz from BorowitzReport.com. Crystal McCrary Anthony, author of "Gotham Diaries." And Christopher John Farley from "TIME" magazine.
Good morning. Nice to see you, everybody.
CRYSTAL MCCRARY ANTHONY, AUTHOR, "GOTHAM DIARIES": Good morning.
O'BRIEN: So, no big surprise, I think, Ray Charles walks away with it, all practically.
CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Yes, it was a big night for Ray Charles. I mean, it was actually a strange night, because there was kind of this death hang over a lot of the Grammys. And that may have been what made so it lively, because it seemed to have a lot of meaning. I mean, you have Ray Charles winning after passing away. You have Bono sending out a tribute to his late father. You have the tribute to the tsunami victims. So, there's a lot going on that really paid tribute to people who had passed on, who have gone on before.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about some other winners as well. Alicia Keys did very well.
FARLEY: Alicia Keys did well. She did very well. Also in her tribute to Ray Charles, I think that she and Jamie Foxx kind of brought down the house with their performance of "Georgia on My Mind." She's brought sort of the old school and new school, a little hip-hop thrown in there. There's a kind of a classic feel to her. I think that it was really beautiful.
O'BRIEN: You love someone who can both sing and -- like, she's like a real musician, you know.
FARLEY: Right. But speaking of real musicians, it's too bad that Maroon 5 won best new artist.
O'BRIEN: I like them.
FARLEY: They really didn't deserve it.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Maroon 5, they're like a rock band for people who think John Mayer is too heavy, you know. Like, you go to Maroon 5...
ANTHONY: Wait a second. I was very proud of John Mayer winning song of the year for "Daughter."
O'BRIEN: That's a beautiful song.
ANTHONY: Isn't that a wonderful song?
BOROWITZ: Yes, you know what? Every woman loves that song.
O'BRIEN: Every mother driving is crying.
BOROWITZ: And every man hates that song. I have a daughter, and I do not want parenting advice from John Mayer.
O'BRIEN: He is kind of young.
BOROWITZ: You know, you don't tell me how to handle my daughter, and won't tell you how to handle your groupies. OK, John? I want to just make that deal.
FARLEY: "Daughter" just makes me long for the hard-hitting days of Lilafair (ph).
O'BRIEN: Oh, please. I love that song.
ANTHONY: I do too. We have a saying...
BOROWITZ: And, you know, Chris...
ANTHONY: You have a daughter, don't you think of that?
O'BRIEN: I do. I drive and I cry when I hear that song. We've got to talk about something that also made me cry, but in a whole different way. J.Lo and Marc Anthony. Come on, now.
BOROWITZ: Well, now, I know that I've been asked to explain this to America. I cannot. And I apologize.
O'BRIEN: The bed? The robe?
BOROWITZ: That was like a set borrowed from, like, a soap opera on Unavision (ph). And then the two of them are singing this song, and I don't know. It's like I had no problem that they were singing in a different language, but J.Lo was actually singing in a different key from Marc Anthony.
O'BRIEN: Yes. ANTHONY: And I was like -- I kept waiting for her to break him in two.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
ANTHONY: I got that impression as I was watching that. I mean, you know, they were -- it was like a soap opera. It was a bad set. It reminded me of, like, a "Dynasty" episode crossed with, like, a soap opera.
(CROSSTALK)
FARLEY: I didn't want to peek into the bedroom. I did not want to see what was going on.
BOROWITZ: Yes, he was very impassioned. I thought he was good. She has put more energy into some of her prenuptial agreements, I think it's safe to say. It was just not much there.
O'BRIEN: And, again, he can sing. I mean, he's a terrific artist.
BOROWITZ: He is good.
ANTHONY: He is.
O'BRIEN: And, you know, I loved "Jenny From the Block," but, you know, you want to have a lot of track and singers behind you on future events, let's say.
Melissa Etheridge, that was pretty remarkable.
ANTHONY: Right, that was.
O'BRIEN: She's recovering from breast cancer.
ANTHONY: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And she came out.
ANTHONY: Right. That was her first public appearance since receiving treatment for radiation. And what a dynamic performance that she and Joss Stone gave. And who better to do a tribute to Janis Joplin than Melissa Etheridge? And from what I understand, Janis Joplin's family approved. I mean, it was an amazing performance. And that was actually one of my favorite performances of the evening.
BOROWITZ: That was a high point, I thought.
ANTHONY: It was definitely a high point.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Definitely.
ANTHONY: I mean, how courageous. BOROWITZ: I thought a high point.
O'BRIEN: There also seemed like there were lots of high points, I thought, with these Grammys. You know, often, after you come after the awards ceremony, maybe because we're bitter...
BOROWITZ: Right.
O'BRIEN: ... because we don't get -- well, you get invited. I don't get invited. So, I'm bitter. You know, they're like deadly and long and boring. And I thought that this one, you know, they kind of pulled it off.
BOROWITZ: It did not open strongly, I didn't think, with the Black Eyed Peas, and then all five...
O'BRIEN: I love them.
BOROWITZ: ... but five bands singing simultaneously, I mean, it was sort of like...
ANTHONY: It was very chaotic.
BOROWITZ: Yes. So, it was like a musical tribute to the train wreck or something. It was just like they were all -- it just sounded like when there's something wrong with your iPod, you know, and you're hearing, like, all of this stuff at once. I don't know. That did not...
O'BRIEN: All right, besides that and J.Lo, the thing was a beautiful thing.
ANTHONY: Oh, yes. I mean, there were so many wonderful performances.
BOROWITZ: There were.
ANTHONY: It was very politically-correct, the entire show, I think.
BOROWITZ: And Green Day, which is my favorite album of the year, did win for best rock.
ANTHONY: Hey, and Rod Stewart is no longer Grammy-less.
O'BRIEN: OK, they're wrapping me so hard, and you guys are going on and on and on.
BOROWITZ: Oh, sorry. And another thing.
O'BRIEN: And another thing. You guys, thanks as always. Appreciate it.
Bill, let's go back to you.
HEMMER: All right, Soledad, top stories in a moment here, including the breaking news out of Lebanon. We continue to track this huge explosion in downtown Beirut, killing a former Lebanese prime minister. The latest live in Lebanon in a moment here as we continue after this.
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Aired February 14, 2005 - 07:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's under way here in New York City. Welcome back, everybody. It's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Here's a question for you: Is the U.S. sending high-tech spy planes into Iran? And would that be a sign, in fact, that the military is scouting targets for airstrikes? This morning, we talk with former CIA director James Woolsey. That's just ahead.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also, police apparently are learning a whole lot more about the prime suspect in a bizarre Valentine's Day suicide pact. Chat room records apparently showing a common thread, how the women were approached, what they were told to do. And we'll get a report on that on this Valentine's Day in a moment.
In the meantime, though, this breaking news out of the Middle East. We want to get to that.
A massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, this morning, killing the former Lebanese prime minister and perhaps the most popular politician in the entire country. The destruction at the city -- the heart of the city, though, is said to be enormous.
Brent Sadler, our bureau chief in Beirut, joins us by telephone.
Brent -- what happened? And why would Rafik Hariri be a target in this?
BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF: First of all, Bill, a huge explosion. This was massive by any scale in terms of what I've seen in 25 years of war reporting. This has devastated an area on the seafront in a prestigious part of the city.
Now, it's confirmed five times Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who turned 60 just a few months ago, was killed in that blast, along with one of his most senior bodyguards.
Now, Rafik Hariri is a larger-than-life figure, not just here in Lebanon, but in the Middle East and beyond. He is a very, very close personal friend of the French president, Jacques Chirac. He's also on good terms with U.S. President George W. Bush. He's been a guest at the White House, a repeated guest at the Elysee palace in Paris.
He is a dominant Sunni Muslim political figure here in Lebanon. He is not, by any means, Bill, the most popular figure here. He does have many political opponents in this country. However, Lebanon has been the scene of vicious political infighting for many weeks now, leading up to a parliamentary election in May. There was an assassination attempt a few months ago against a leading opponent of the pro-Syrian government here, Marwan Hamadeh, a Druze politician, survived that blast.
This attack appeared to be aimed directly at the Rafik Hariri convoy. It's a very heavily-armed convoy under any circumstances that had some of the latest high-tech anti-car bomb devices on board his vehicle. Nevertheless, the scale of this explosion was sufficient to kill Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
He has been credited internationally by the United Nations only last September with helping to -- leading the effort, rather, to reconstruct Lebanon, particularly the downtown town area of this city. But he has been on good and sometimes bad terms with Lebanon's powerful neighbor, the Syrians and the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Syria under growing international pressure, led by the U.S. and France, to quit its troops in Lebanon, to withdraw Syrian troops from Lebanon, and to stop accusing the U.S. and France of meddling, pulling the strings in Lebanese affairs.
This is a seismic event, not just on the Lebanese political scene, but also with neighboring Syria and the region as a whole. Rafik Hariri was one of the most well-connected politicians in Middle East and beyond -- Bill.
HEMMER: Bill, a quick question. Threats against his life, do you know of any?
SADLER: There have been no specific threats that I of against Rafik Hariri's life, but I do know of threats that have been made against some of his allies, and most recently some of whom have been considering the possibility of packing up and leaving this country. That I do know of in recent weeks. Whether any direct threats recently against Hariri, we do not know. But in items of the fallout from this, this will be significant -- Bill.
HEMMER: Brent Sadler, thanks. Our Beirut bureau chief there working that story.
As Brent described there, a seismic event for the Middle East in terms of politics. A larger-than-life figure not just in Lebanon, but also throughout the Middle East. More in this story as we go throughout the morning. It's still breaking now from Beirut -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Other headlines now with Heidi Collins.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, guys. And other explosions to talk about in a different place as well. Good morning to you once again, everybody.
"Now in the News." Three powerful explosions rocking the southern Philippines. Police officials report at least three people are dead, many others wounded. We are going to have more details on this just as soon as they become available to us.
Meanwhile, here in the United States, Alberto Gonzales is set to be sworn in today as the country's first Hispanic attorney general. The ceremony is set to take place at the Justice Department in about two hours. Gonzales took his oath of office from Vice President Dick Cheney earlier this month.
Meanwhile, a full Senate will debate the nomination of Michael Chertoff as the new homeland security secretary. He is expected to be approved in a vote tomorrow.
In Charleston, South Carolina, the fate of a teenager whose lawyers say he killed his grandparents while under the influence of the antidepressant Zoloft will soon be in the hands of a jury. Closing arguments in the trial of Christopher Pittman, now 15 years old, are set for today. If convicted, Pittman could spend the rest of his life in prison or in a mental institution.
And people in Eastern Arizona are working to repair damage from a winter storm there. Heavy rain has flooded homes and forced dozens of families to evacuate. Video from the area shows the river eating away at people's yards. Flooded rivers also swallowed roads and at least one car. There are no reports of major injuries. But the bad news is another round of rain or snow is expected later this week. We don't often hear about snowstorms in Arizona.
HEMMER: We're going to get our own dose today, though.
COLLINS: I think we are.
HEMMER: Stay tuned. Thank you, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right.
O'BRIEN: Thanks.
HEMMER: The investigation into a suspected Valentine's Day suicide pact uncovers new information about the man accused of planning it.
For more, out to Oregon and Kimberly Osais up early this morning there.
Good morning -- Kimberly.
KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Bill.
Well, authorities are now revealing that there are some serious sexual overtones to this mass Internet suicide pact. And, of course, today is Valentine's Day, the day that this was going to be carried out. Authorities do believe that the plan has been averted, although they're keeping a close eye on the situation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have anything to say?
OSIAS (voice over): Authorities say 26-year-old Gerald Krein has been targeting women on the Internet for years, soliciting sex and suicide, most recent a group plan that started back in December on a Yahoo site called "Suicide Party 2005."
Investigators are beginning to connect the dots. They noticed a common theme. Krein targeted mostly women and instant messaged them about the specifics of the suicides: hanging themselves on Valentine's Day naked. When Internet chat turned towards murder, four female tipsters contacted police.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When he started talking about the woman and her kids is what freaked me out and made me wonder if he was telling the truth. And then he started getting into, like, really grave details.
OSIAS: At least 32 women spanning several states, Canada and England are believed to be involved.
EDWIN CALEB, KLAMATH COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It's definitely not a hoax. I mean, I suppose inside everybody's minds they could have said ha, ha, ha, we weren't really going to do this, but it's not a hoax. It's there in black and white.
OSIAS: Black and white photo copies with Krein's instant message conversation with one woman. "Do you want to hang?" "No." "Do you want to die in the nude?" "No." Then she says, "This sounds more perverted than anything."
TIM EVINGER, KLAMATH COUNTY SHERIFF: He identifies women in the chat rooms and starts targeting them is what it appears. And also indicates that he would like them to do maybe some sex acts or something maybe for his own gratification.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OSIAS: Krein remains behind bars in the Klamath County jail on $100,000 bond. A grand jury will convene here in the courtroom later this morning. They will consider additional charges against Krein, who has already been charged with solicitation to commit murder -- Bill.
HEMMER: A strange twist there from Oregon this morning. Thanks, Kimberly -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: It's time to take a look at the weather this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Well, for the drivers who think the Hummer is just not big enough, meet the new bad boy. Andy has that in a moment here, back to "Minding Your Business."
O'BRIEN: Plus, J.Lo and Marc Anthony. Guess what? They revealed their romance at the Grammys. It's something we all knew about already. But after hearing the duet, maybe actually they should have kept it under wraps. "90-Second Pop" is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: U.S. officials are sending mixed signals in response to a "Washington Post" report that says that the Pentagon has been using surveillance drones over Iran. Senior military sources tell CNN they have no knowledge of any spying on Iran. The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee would not confirm the report, but he didn't really deny it either.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R), KANSAS: I think we ought to use every intelligence capability that we have to collect the best intelligence that we can. And we're not flying drones. Drones just fly. They use them as targets. We are talking about UAVs -- unmanned aerial vehicles -- that have capability to collect intelligence. And I think we ought to use every capability that we can to determine where we are.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That's Senator Pat Roberts.
Joining us this morning, though, is former CIA Director Jim Woolsey.
It's nice to see you, sir. Thank you very for talking with us.
JAMES WOOLSEY, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: It's good to be with you, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: As we've just heard, military officials are disputing the story about the drones. There are others, government sources high level that confirmed the story, in fact, to CNN. You heard Pat Roberts sort of on the fence about it. Would it surprise you, in fact, if there were drones that were flying over Iran?
WOOLSEY: No. The senator made a linguistic, important distinction. Unmanned aerial vehicles are the more modern terminology, and they probably have reconnaissance capability.
And I think it's a good idea if the U.S. government, some part of it, is doing that. The Iranians have a major nuclear weapons program, and the Iranian mullahs ought to hope that unmanned aerial vehicles taking pictures or otherwise are the only thing that are flying over Iran. O'BRIEN: How effectively can they monitor what's going on in Iran? And how worthwhile is the intelligence that, in fact, these drones may be getting?
WOOLSEY: Well, it's hard to tell without knowing exactly what kinds of sensors they have on them, assuming they are, in fact, flying. I have no inside knowledge on this. But we really do need to keep tabs as well as we can on this Iranian nuclear weapons program.
The Iranians, by going into fuel processing and enrichment and heavy water and all of this, clearly have a nuclear weapons program. It's sort of as if they wanted a few cars, reactors, analogous to reactors for electricity production. And they were building a factory that's capable of producing ballistic missiles in cars. And they said, look, we really have to do this in order to have the cars.
They are really outrageously moving solidly toward a major nuclear weapons program. And we, and all other neighboring countries that don't want them to have that, ought to do everything we can to keep tabs on what's going on.
O'BRIEN: Before we get to my next question I just want to show you -- well, as we've been showing people videotape, there's been a little life bug up there, but obviously it's file tape of some of the nuclear weaponry that you've been discussing.
You say keep tabs on. And if, indeed, the drones are, in fact, monitoring Iran, what does that say to you? Does that say to you it's just monitoring, it's partly intimidation? Or does it say this is preparation and good preparation for eventual military action?
WOOLSEY: Well, if we are flying unmanned aerial vehicles for reconnaissance purposes over Iran, it's likely that they know about it. And I don't think the principal purpose would be intimidation. It would probably be to collect information. But this is a very dangerous program that the Iranians mullahs are embarked on. And anything that we can do to peacefully get them to turn away it from we ought to do.
O'BRIEN: Peacefully at this point, at least. Former CIA director James Woolsey joining us. Thank you very much, sir. Appreciate your insight.
WOOLSEY: Thank you.
It's time to check into the "Question of the Day," which I guess is completely on a different vein but not on a much lighter note.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's weaponry of a different sort, if you will. The maker of Taser stun guns are launching a major marketing campaign for a civilian model of the weapon that's used by the police and the military. The home model would sell for about $1,000. It would be less powerful than the police version. It would have a range of about 15 feet and would stun an intruder for a period of 30 seconds. Taser's announcements comes after a series of critical reports about the stun guns. The SEC is investigating charges the company made misleading statements about the safety of the weapon. The company would like to see Taser stun guns replace firearms as the way of protecting your home.
That 's the question: Would you buy a Taser stun gun for your home?
D.W. in Crescent City, California: "No, I would not buy a Taser stun gun. The AK47 and Glock Magnum that I have are adequate firepower for my neighborhood."
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Indeed.
CAFFERTY: Robert in Tacoma writes: "I think if I had one, I would probably use it on my neighbor. So it probably isn't a good idea. I just don't know which is worse. I have a huge softball bat that goes with me when I need to make my point clear. Today, I have back surgery, so I'll have to be quiet for a while."
Robert, this is more than we want to know. A little bit is fine.
Johnny in Vicksburg: "I'm opposed to the purchase and harboring of any gun in the home, for surely sooner or later a Taser gun would fall into the hands of children with dire consequences."
Jerry in Alpharetta, Georgia: "Stun guns, like handguns, are for criminals. There is nothing more effective than an old-fashioned 12- gauge for defending the home turf, and you don't have to be a good shot either."
And Rex in Toronto writes: "Jack, in Canada we don't even lock our doors, much less contemplate electrocuting our neighbors. What in the hell is wrong with you people?"
I don't know, Rex.
SERWER: Yes, that's a good question.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Yes, it is.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
Picking up a Grammy can help pick up music success. Boy, we've seen this time and time again, haven't we? And we'll see the fallout maybe after last night.
Good morning to you.
SERWER: Good morning to you.
No, it works in the record business, unlike in the movie business, where nominations don't make the sales of the movies pick up as much. But in the music business, it works.
First of all, we want to talk about the album of the year, which is Ray Charles' "Genius Loves Company." You can see right here. This is what Jack listens to every morning, by the way, or at least many mornings.
And a very unusual story behind this album. The record label is Concord, which is a very small label that's owned by Norman Lear, the television producer. And it was distributed mostly in Starbucks. So, this is very interesting. They sold three million copies of this album. A third of them were sold in Starbucks. It was a huge hit. And the last time Ray Charles had an album in the top 10 was in 1964. So, you can see new power of this distribution model selling it in Starbucks.
CAFFERTY: Was that by any chance the "Modern Sounds in County and Western Music?"
SERWER: It was.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
SERWER: Perhaps your favorite album of all time.
CAFFERTY: Yes, if you like Ray Charles, this was the greatest thing he ever did was "Modern Sounds in Country and Western" -- this duet thing he did was recorded very late in his life, and his voice, quite frankly, isn't as strong on it as it as earlier.
SERWER: Right.
CAFFERTY: Understandably so. He was an old man. But the country and western music album is just sensational.
SERWER: And, of course, his untimely death spurred sale of the movie as well.
O'BRIEN: Starbucks has a business model for distribution. That's fascinating.
SERWER: It is. And they're going to be doing it more and more here music as their record label.
And just quickly, just to have some numbers up here to show you how much these nominations can boost sales. You can see there, "O Brother" soundtrack up 260 percent. Norah Jones -- and these are big numbers. It was 144,000, and then she sold 621,000 after she got the award.
HEMMER: Nobody knew about Norah Jones until the Grammys. It was huge.
SERWER: That's right. Well, that was big bump. And then Outkast, another one of Jack's favorites. And then we'll see about Ray Charles.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: Someone I can identify with.
SERWER: Outkast. Outkast.
CAFFERTY: Outkast.
SERWER: Outkast.
O'BRIEN: We're going to be talking more about the Grammys coming up on "90-Second Pop". In fact, Usher was poised to be the big star of the Grammys, but in the end he was, in fact, overshadowed. "90- Second Pop" is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: I should be a rapper, you know. I can get into that. Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. It is the morning after music's biggest night. And it's time for a special Grammy edition of "90-Second Pop".
Joining us this morning, Andy Borowitz from BorowitzReport.com. Crystal McCrary Anthony, author of "Gotham Diaries." And Christopher John Farley from "TIME" magazine.
Good morning. Nice to see you, everybody.
CRYSTAL MCCRARY ANTHONY, AUTHOR, "GOTHAM DIARIES": Good morning.
O'BRIEN: So, no big surprise, I think, Ray Charles walks away with it, all practically.
CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Yes, it was a big night for Ray Charles. I mean, it was actually a strange night, because there was kind of this death hang over a lot of the Grammys. And that may have been what made so it lively, because it seemed to have a lot of meaning. I mean, you have Ray Charles winning after passing away. You have Bono sending out a tribute to his late father. You have the tribute to the tsunami victims. So, there's a lot going on that really paid tribute to people who had passed on, who have gone on before.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about some other winners as well. Alicia Keys did very well.
FARLEY: Alicia Keys did well. She did very well. Also in her tribute to Ray Charles, I think that she and Jamie Foxx kind of brought down the house with their performance of "Georgia on My Mind." She's brought sort of the old school and new school, a little hip-hop thrown in there. There's a kind of a classic feel to her. I think that it was really beautiful.
O'BRIEN: You love someone who can both sing and -- like, she's like a real musician, you know.
FARLEY: Right. But speaking of real musicians, it's too bad that Maroon 5 won best new artist.
O'BRIEN: I like them.
FARLEY: They really didn't deserve it.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Maroon 5, they're like a rock band for people who think John Mayer is too heavy, you know. Like, you go to Maroon 5...
ANTHONY: Wait a second. I was very proud of John Mayer winning song of the year for "Daughter."
O'BRIEN: That's a beautiful song.
ANTHONY: Isn't that a wonderful song?
BOROWITZ: Yes, you know what? Every woman loves that song.
O'BRIEN: Every mother driving is crying.
BOROWITZ: And every man hates that song. I have a daughter, and I do not want parenting advice from John Mayer.
O'BRIEN: He is kind of young.
BOROWITZ: You know, you don't tell me how to handle my daughter, and won't tell you how to handle your groupies. OK, John? I want to just make that deal.
FARLEY: "Daughter" just makes me long for the hard-hitting days of Lilafair (ph).
O'BRIEN: Oh, please. I love that song.
ANTHONY: I do too. We have a saying...
BOROWITZ: And, you know, Chris...
ANTHONY: You have a daughter, don't you think of that?
O'BRIEN: I do. I drive and I cry when I hear that song. We've got to talk about something that also made me cry, but in a whole different way. J.Lo and Marc Anthony. Come on, now.
BOROWITZ: Well, now, I know that I've been asked to explain this to America. I cannot. And I apologize.
O'BRIEN: The bed? The robe?
BOROWITZ: That was like a set borrowed from, like, a soap opera on Unavision (ph). And then the two of them are singing this song, and I don't know. It's like I had no problem that they were singing in a different language, but J.Lo was actually singing in a different key from Marc Anthony.
O'BRIEN: Yes. ANTHONY: And I was like -- I kept waiting for her to break him in two.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
ANTHONY: I got that impression as I was watching that. I mean, you know, they were -- it was like a soap opera. It was a bad set. It reminded me of, like, a "Dynasty" episode crossed with, like, a soap opera.
(CROSSTALK)
FARLEY: I didn't want to peek into the bedroom. I did not want to see what was going on.
BOROWITZ: Yes, he was very impassioned. I thought he was good. She has put more energy into some of her prenuptial agreements, I think it's safe to say. It was just not much there.
O'BRIEN: And, again, he can sing. I mean, he's a terrific artist.
BOROWITZ: He is good.
ANTHONY: He is.
O'BRIEN: And, you know, I loved "Jenny From the Block," but, you know, you want to have a lot of track and singers behind you on future events, let's say.
Melissa Etheridge, that was pretty remarkable.
ANTHONY: Right, that was.
O'BRIEN: She's recovering from breast cancer.
ANTHONY: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And she came out.
ANTHONY: Right. That was her first public appearance since receiving treatment for radiation. And what a dynamic performance that she and Joss Stone gave. And who better to do a tribute to Janis Joplin than Melissa Etheridge? And from what I understand, Janis Joplin's family approved. I mean, it was an amazing performance. And that was actually one of my favorite performances of the evening.
BOROWITZ: That was a high point, I thought.
ANTHONY: It was definitely a high point.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Definitely.
ANTHONY: I mean, how courageous. BOROWITZ: I thought a high point.
O'BRIEN: There also seemed like there were lots of high points, I thought, with these Grammys. You know, often, after you come after the awards ceremony, maybe because we're bitter...
BOROWITZ: Right.
O'BRIEN: ... because we don't get -- well, you get invited. I don't get invited. So, I'm bitter. You know, they're like deadly and long and boring. And I thought that this one, you know, they kind of pulled it off.
BOROWITZ: It did not open strongly, I didn't think, with the Black Eyed Peas, and then all five...
O'BRIEN: I love them.
BOROWITZ: ... but five bands singing simultaneously, I mean, it was sort of like...
ANTHONY: It was very chaotic.
BOROWITZ: Yes. So, it was like a musical tribute to the train wreck or something. It was just like they were all -- it just sounded like when there's something wrong with your iPod, you know, and you're hearing, like, all of this stuff at once. I don't know. That did not...
O'BRIEN: All right, besides that and J.Lo, the thing was a beautiful thing.
ANTHONY: Oh, yes. I mean, there were so many wonderful performances.
BOROWITZ: There were.
ANTHONY: It was very politically-correct, the entire show, I think.
BOROWITZ: And Green Day, which is my favorite album of the year, did win for best rock.
ANTHONY: Hey, and Rod Stewart is no longer Grammy-less.
O'BRIEN: OK, they're wrapping me so hard, and you guys are going on and on and on.
BOROWITZ: Oh, sorry. And another thing.
O'BRIEN: And another thing. You guys, thanks as always. Appreciate it.
Bill, let's go back to you.
HEMMER: All right, Soledad, top stories in a moment here, including the breaking news out of Lebanon. We continue to track this huge explosion in downtown Beirut, killing a former Lebanese prime minister. The latest live in Lebanon in a moment here as we continue after this.
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