Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Reaction to Yesterday's Explosion in Lebanon; Latest on Investigation into Mall Shooting in Upstate New York
Aired February 15, 2005 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Straight ahead on DAYBREAK, black and brown, burned cars and gutted buildings -- we'll take you into the heart of that massive bombing in Beirut.
Also, it reads like a who's who list. We'll tell you who might take the stand in Michael Jackson's trial. Yuri Geller?
And hold the phone -- will a major deal mean fewer choices for you?
It is Tuesday, February 15.
You are watching DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
Now in the news, the son of former Lebanese prime minister visited the scene today where his father was killed. A bomb, possibly 700 pound of explosives, killed the former prime minister and 15 others. One hundred forty were wounded.
Northeast of Beijing, a search going on for 13 missing miners. They could be trapped by a gas explosion Monday that killed at least 203 miners. Another 22 were injured by the blast.
Former priest Paul Shanley could face life in prison. He'll be sentenced in Massachusetts this morning for repeatedly raping a young boy in his parish during the 1980s.
And new allegations of corruption in the U.N.'s Oil For Food Program. In a hearing this morning, a Senate panel will claim an inspector was bribed into letting Saddam Hussein's regime smuggle a half million barrels of oil.
To the forecast center now -- good morning, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: It is the day after that tremendous explosion along Beirut's waterfront, and the shock has not let up yet. The target was the former prime minister, Rafik Hariri. Just a short time ago, our Brent Sadler visited the scene of that blast.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The fallout from the political assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is still reverberating, not just here in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, but throughout the Middle East and far beyond.
This is where the massive explosion took place. If we just pan off to my right, you can see the size of the crater here, a massive hole that has given you some sort of idea of the scale of the blast that claimed the life of Mr. Hariri and at least nine others in his armored motorcade.
One of his closest colleagues, a former minister, Basil Fuleihan, is in hospital abroad fighting for his life, with over 97 percent burns as a result of the magnitude of the blast.
If I can give you some idea of the collateral damage around here, we'll pick our way through the debris. This on my left is the former renowned St. Georges Hotel. It still had not been rebuilt after the 15-year civil war that engulfed this country in the 1970s and 1980s. The blast was set off between the St. Georges Hotel and another empty building that was in the process of reconstruction.
Now, as we walk through the debris here, I can see Lebanese Army soldiers are now in the process of taking photographs of the blast site, looking at how this detonation was laid, how these explosives were set.
It's still unclear at this stage whether or not this was a car bomb, a suicide bombing or some sort of underground explosion. What we do know is that there were construction works going on in this area and we do know from what the authorities are telling us on the ground that between 250 and 300 kilos, maybe about 700 pounds of explosives, were detonated in, we believe, a single blast.
Now, if you take a look around here, you can see the mangled wrecks of many cars. The armored convoy of the late prime minister was literally decimated by the powerful blast that shook the center of Beirut the previous day. This really is a throwback, a dark throwback to the civil war years here, that Rafik Hariri had always strived, he said, to remove, to remove those dark days, those dark decades, from Lebanon's history, to move this country forward and to try to integrate it in a wider Middle East peace process that he was a passionate believer in.
Brent Sadler, CNN, Beirut.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: In this country, the man who went on a shooting spree in the Hudson Valley Mall had a lurid fascination with the Columbine High School shootings. That's according to the D.A., who also says police found a cache of Columbine memorabilia in the suspect's bedroom. Police say that suspect, Robert Bonnelli, Jr., used an assault type weapon to spray the crowd.
And that has prompted one U.S. senator to urge his colleagues to rethink the end of the gun ban.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: It's unfortunate that terrible incidents like the one that occurred in Kingston yesterday are the only thing that might prick the conscience of Washington and get the assault weapons ban renewed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: CNN's Jason Carroll now takes a closer look at just what happened in the town of Ulster, New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Early Sunday, authorities say Robert Bonelli went to this Wal-Mart in upstate New York, bought 60 rounds of ammunition and began to carry out the plan he had been plotting for some time. They believe he headed to a park, loaded his semiautomatic assault rifle, went to the Best Buy's parking lot at a mall in the town of Ulster and opened fire, shooting three rounds into the store's glass doors, the fragments injuring a customer.
Bonelli fired more shots once in the store, reloaded and headed inside the mall.
ANTHONY BLACK, MALL EMPLOYEE: I saw somebody coming out of Best Buy holding -- it's unmistakable what it was. It was a, you know, an assault weapon.
COHEN: Anthony Black works at Dick's Sporting Goods. His family was in the mall during the shooting. So instead of running away from Bonelli, Black followed him, watched as he shot one man, then stopped.
BLACK: The gun goes down to the side.
CARROLL (on camera): So he throws the gun down?
BLACK: Off to the side. His arms started to go up. I don't know what he's -- I don't know what he's going to do. I came behind him, grabbed his arms, brought them up behind his back and forcibly put him to the floor.
CARROLL (voice-over): Black and two others held Bonelli for several minutes until help came.
BLACK: My first and only thought this entire time, I wanted to make sure that my family -- that this guy could not hurt my family or anybody else. CARROLL: After his arrest, investigators headed to Bonelli's home, where they found what they described as Columbine memorabilia. After interviews with Bonelli, they learned he had respect for the two students who killed 13 people and themselves in the high school shooting in 1999.
DONALD WILLIAMS, ULSTER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: And had an interest that I think can best be described as a lurid fascination with the details of what occurred. Now, whether or not that specifically entered into the operation of his mind when he did this indiscriminate shooting, I simply will not speculate.
ROBERT BONELLI, SR., SUSPECT'S FATHER: He just walked out the door and said, "Dad, I'll see you." And that was the last I saw him.
CARROLL: Black can't understand why anyone would do what Bonelli did, nor does he think of himself as a hero for his actions. He does, however, think about Bonelli's last words before police took him away.
BLACK: The only other thing he said was, "Did I kill anybody?"
CARROLL (on camera): Despite firing some 60 rounds, just two people were hurt during the shooting. The most seriously hurt, a man who has a severe injury to his leg. Bonelli is 24 years old. He lived at home with his father. His father has been quoted as saying that his son is a good person deep down inside, he was just crying out for help.
Jason Carroll, CNN, the town of Ulster, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: It reads like a who's who list, a long one. Michael Jackson's lawyers read their witness list in court, it was so long, the judge had to call a break. Jury selection has resumed and lawyers from both sides ran down a list of potential witnesses.
Jackson's list includes Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor and Kobe Bryant, and many, many, many more.
Outside of the courtroom, small groups of loyal fans are still showing up outside of the Santa Maria, California courtroom to support the pop star.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICHOLE ANGELIC JACKSON, JACKSON SUPPORTER: I believe that Michael is so innocent, because he loves kids, and not for the wrong reasons, like Corey Feldman said. And 9/11, when they were leaving New York, well, Corey Feldman wanted to go with Michael and he couldn't. And I think he got kind of mad. So he's maybe saying some things now to get a little attention for himself, pub, you know, publicity.
B.J. HICKMAN, JACKSON SUPPORTER: About a month ago, I traveled five days on a Greyhound bus just to get here. QUESTION: Why?
HICKMAN: Just to support Michael. Because he says in his song, "Will you be there?," he goes, "in my darkest hour and my deepest despair, will you still care? Will you be there?" So this is it. And we're here and we're going to stay here until the day they bring him innocent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Unusual happenings outside the courtroom and inside the courtroom, as well.
With me now long time attorney and courtroom observer, Lauren Handler.
Welcome, Lauren.
LAUREN HANDLER, TRIAL ATTORNEY: Good morning.
COSTELLO: So this defense witness list, 366 names. That seems excessive.
HANDLER: It seems very excessive and it's very unlikely that his lawyers will call that many witnesses to the trial.
COSTELLO: Well, let's run down some of the names on that list. I gave viewers a couple. But also on the list, Elizabeth Taylor. We sort of get that, because that would be a character reference, right?
But there are other names, as well, like Kobe Bryant?
HANDLER: I don't know what Mr. Bryant might know that would be relevant. These names are probably, some people know, have seen Michael Jackson with the accuser and his family and might have some relevant information about how they interacted. Others are supposedly character witnesses. I don't know where Mr. Bryant would fall or what reaction he would have with this jury.
COSTELLO: Well, he has people on here like the Backstreet Boy, Nick Carter, and his brother, Aaron Carter, and...
HANDLER: I don't know if they're going to bring in a long list of people he hasn't molested. That might be part of the strategy, that he's been with other young people over his lifetime and have always treated them properly. That might be another strategy.
COSTELLO: Of course, Corey Feldman went on national television and said he had doubts about Michael Jackson's behavior toward him now.
HANDLER: Right.
COSTELLO: So that could be damaging to him. Who knows, though?
This brings up a problem for prosecutors, though, because they have to pay attention to this huge long list of witnesses and actually try to question all of them.
HANDLER: That's part of the strategy, probably, as well. If you throw a lot of names at the prosecutor, it's going to keep them busy trying to run down what these people might know, send out investigators to talk to them and maybe keep their eye off the ball of the trial.
COSTELLO: What I also found interesting as to names on this list of defense witnesses, Michael Jackson wants to call his own children to the stand. And these are little kids.
HANDLER: I don't know what they would bring. I would think, as a defense attorney, that might backfire because the jury might think that he's exploiting his own children. And I don't think that will (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
COSTELLO: Well, especially if they wear those veils over their faces.
HANDLER: I think the judge probably would tell them not to do that.
COSTELLO: OK, so the jury has these questionnaires and defense attorneys are questioning the prospective jurors to sit on the final panel.
HANDLER: Right.
COSTELLO: Some of the things that defense attorneys are asking them, if police has special credibility in their eyes.
What direction is the defense team going by asking that specific question?
HANDLER: The defense wants to know the type of jurors who are going to sit and if they have a certain mind set that would make them believe the prosecution witnesses or believe the police. Some people think if a defendant has been brought to trial they must be guilty because the police don't make those types of mistakes and don't make charges.
So the defense really wants to know what the attitude of the jurors are to law enforcement, to people in authority, and whether they look up to them and would tend to believe them just because of the positions that they hold.
COSTELLO: This process is going to go on many, many more days.
HANDLER: It shall.
COSTELLO: Lauren Handler, thanks for helping us sort it out this morning.
HANDLER: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Multicultural mind set at one of the nation's biggest retail chains. Coming up, a new initiative begins today to get more minorities in those orange aprons.
And how will the latest big telecom deal affect your monthly bill -- or will it?
And the NHL on the verge of kissing the entire season good-bye. I'll talk to a sports reporter about who really ends up in the penalty box.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 6:17 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
The son of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister killed in a blast on Monday, visited the street today where his father was killed. Authorities are looking for a man who claimed responsibility for the bombing in a statement aired on the Al Jazeera network.
The Bush administration is proposing sending up to 10,000 United Nations troops to Sudan. The troops would monitor a cease-fire agreement in the Darfur region and the movement of any armed groups.
In money news, Cal Ripken, Jr. will anchor the lineup on X.M. Radio's new major league baseball channel. The round the clock channel launches today with several big name hosts and replays of classic games.
In culture, Chris Rock has made some harsh comments about the Oscars, even though he will host the awards show later this month. The comedian called the concept "idiotic" and says he only watches when black actors are nominated. Producers say there's no pressure to remove him from his hosting duties despite his remarks.
In sports, it looks like there really will not be any goals or games in the National Hockey League this season. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will hold a news conference tomorrow where he is expected to announce the official cancellation of the whole dang season -- Chad.
MYERS: Carol, aren't we going to talk about this at like 6:50?
COSTELLO: Yes.
MYERS: Yes, we're going to have a special guest on.
Great.
COSTELLO: And you're excited about that, because I know you're hot about this. MYERS: Well, you know, I was hot about it 35 days ago, but now it's just over and I've lost interest. And I think a lot of hockey fans are just disgusted.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
Coming up next, mixed signals. Does it really matter to you that Verizon and MCI want to do business together?
And Home Depot wants more do-it-yourselfers to see Naranja. We'll explain.
And later, public schools and bible class -- think they don't go together? One town begs to differ.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi.
Good morning, everyone.
I'm Carrie Lee at the Nasdaq market site.
Home Depot is trying to tap into the Hispanic community by hiring them. The home improvement chain is launching a partnership with four Hispanic organizations to recruit Spanish speaking employees. The company already has similar agreements with senior citizen and military groups. Overall, Wal-Mart has over -- Home Depot, excuse me -- has over 300,000 employees at nearly 2,000 stores.
And the move is expected to tap into the valuable Hispanic customer base and its buying power, which is expected to reach $1 trillion over the next few years.
Home Depot's big rival, Lowe's, has similar agreements in place, although they don't have any formal agreements with the Hispanic community.
So that it the latest on Home Depot.
Turning to the markets, futures looking flat after a pretty lackluster session yesterday. The Dow, though, is in positive territory by about 8 points on the year. And we will be keeping an eye on shares of Wal-Mart. The "Wall Street Journal" says the cheapest thing about the discounter may be its stock price.
So that is the latest business news.
DAYBREAK will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Verizon is buying MCI. SBC is going for AT&T. Big deals, indeed. Verizon's offering $6.7 billion for MCI. A cost svgs of $1 billion is expected from the deal. But there is this -- Verizon has a plan to cut 7,000 jobs, and that has got to hurt.
Let's give all this telecom stuff a closer look.
Helping us to do that, Steve Rosenbush, a senior writer for "Business Week" magazine.
Good morning, Steve.
STEVE ROSENBUSH, "BUSINESS WEEK": Good morning.
How are you?
COSTELLO: I'm fine.
You know, when Verizon and MCI made this big announcement, there was no mention of consumers.
So does that mean it's really not a big deal for us?
ROSENBUSH: You know, there has been so much change in the telecom world over the last few years that consumers really do need to wake up and take stock of what's going on. I don't think that this deal in particular is going to hurt them, but consumers do need to understand that they choices. If they forget about that, they can still end up paying way too much for phone service.
COSTELLO: Yes, but the choices will no longer involve MCI, which is strange for many consumers.
ROSENBUSH: It's unsettling because many people, many people remember these companies as monoliths that where everywhere. But what people have to remember is that cable TV companies, wireless phone companies provide some sort of alternative right now, a real alternative that didn't exist years ago.
COSTELLO: Well, tell us about some of those alternatives so we don't have to deal with the MCIs of the world anymore.
ROSENBUSH: Consumers have all sorts of choices that they, they couldn't even imagine a few years ago. The local phone as we know it, the long distance phone call as we know it, has changed a lot. You can find the same service from a wireless phone company for, in many cases, an incredibly low price. You can find the same service from an Internet phone company, like Vonage. And we'll probably see an increasing alternative from the cable TV companies over the next few years.
COSTELLO: So you can get your phone service through your computer, use your computer for your phone service.
ROSENBUSH: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: A lot of people aren't even using like land lines anymore, as we used to call them. They're using their cell phones and skipping over even the local services that are being offered for telephone service.
ROSENBUSH: Absolutely. But people should remember that if they're not fairly aggressive and alert, that they can end up over paying. There's still plenty of people paying exorbitant rates to traditional long distance companies because they simply haven't bothered to go through the company's literature and marketing brochures and figure out what's going on.
COSTELLO: That takes so much work, though, Steve.
ROSENBUSH: It does. It's not easy. The market works better for consumers who are alert, but consumers aren't protected the way they were.
COSTELLO: OK, so since Verizon and MCI have merged, they're going to be battling for some of the cable business, aren't they? For your Internet, those bundles that you buy?
ROSENBUSH: That's what they said, yes.
COSTELLO: That's what they said.
So you could possibly get a better deal for cable service and Internet service because of these mergers or not?
ROSENBUSH: By the end of this year we'll start to see some real competition between the cable TV companies and the phone companies for the very first time. By the end of this year, Comcast, which is the nation's largest cable TV operator, will be able to provide phone service to all of its customers.
COSTELLO: Wow!
ROSENBUSH: So it says. And we'll increasingly see companies like Verizon and like, to some extent, SBC offering television over very, very high speed phone lines.
COSTELLO: And hopefully a lot of price breaks for consumers.
ROSENBUSH: We'll see.
COSTELLO: Steve Rosenbloom, thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
ROSENBUSH: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Coming up in the last half hour of DAYBREAK, some dramatic moments in the murder trial of a South Carolina teenager. Now the jury wrestles with some very tough questions.
And what is on your mind? Is it Iraq? The economy? We'll get the latest take on what Americans are thinking about.
We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A show of support for marriage. A Valentine's Day demonstrate down South has some people feeling the love.
Also ahead in the last half hour of DAYBREAK, a chilly ending to the hockey season. It's looking like no Stanley Cup this year.
And good morning to you.
Welcome to the last half hour of DAYBREAK.
From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
Now in the news, the son of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri visited the scene today where his father was killed. A bomb, possibly 700 pounds of explosives, killed Hariri and 15 others. About 140 people were wounded.
The defense is expected to begin presenting its case this morning in the Robert Blake trial. The actor was taken out of the courtroom in tears yesterday as prosecutors closed their case with audiotapes of Blake talking about his daughter.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 15, 2005 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Straight ahead on DAYBREAK, black and brown, burned cars and gutted buildings -- we'll take you into the heart of that massive bombing in Beirut.
Also, it reads like a who's who list. We'll tell you who might take the stand in Michael Jackson's trial. Yuri Geller?
And hold the phone -- will a major deal mean fewer choices for you?
It is Tuesday, February 15.
You are watching DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
Now in the news, the son of former Lebanese prime minister visited the scene today where his father was killed. A bomb, possibly 700 pound of explosives, killed the former prime minister and 15 others. One hundred forty were wounded.
Northeast of Beijing, a search going on for 13 missing miners. They could be trapped by a gas explosion Monday that killed at least 203 miners. Another 22 were injured by the blast.
Former priest Paul Shanley could face life in prison. He'll be sentenced in Massachusetts this morning for repeatedly raping a young boy in his parish during the 1980s.
And new allegations of corruption in the U.N.'s Oil For Food Program. In a hearing this morning, a Senate panel will claim an inspector was bribed into letting Saddam Hussein's regime smuggle a half million barrels of oil.
To the forecast center now -- good morning, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: It is the day after that tremendous explosion along Beirut's waterfront, and the shock has not let up yet. The target was the former prime minister, Rafik Hariri. Just a short time ago, our Brent Sadler visited the scene of that blast.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The fallout from the political assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is still reverberating, not just here in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, but throughout the Middle East and far beyond.
This is where the massive explosion took place. If we just pan off to my right, you can see the size of the crater here, a massive hole that has given you some sort of idea of the scale of the blast that claimed the life of Mr. Hariri and at least nine others in his armored motorcade.
One of his closest colleagues, a former minister, Basil Fuleihan, is in hospital abroad fighting for his life, with over 97 percent burns as a result of the magnitude of the blast.
If I can give you some idea of the collateral damage around here, we'll pick our way through the debris. This on my left is the former renowned St. Georges Hotel. It still had not been rebuilt after the 15-year civil war that engulfed this country in the 1970s and 1980s. The blast was set off between the St. Georges Hotel and another empty building that was in the process of reconstruction.
Now, as we walk through the debris here, I can see Lebanese Army soldiers are now in the process of taking photographs of the blast site, looking at how this detonation was laid, how these explosives were set.
It's still unclear at this stage whether or not this was a car bomb, a suicide bombing or some sort of underground explosion. What we do know is that there were construction works going on in this area and we do know from what the authorities are telling us on the ground that between 250 and 300 kilos, maybe about 700 pounds of explosives, were detonated in, we believe, a single blast.
Now, if you take a look around here, you can see the mangled wrecks of many cars. The armored convoy of the late prime minister was literally decimated by the powerful blast that shook the center of Beirut the previous day. This really is a throwback, a dark throwback to the civil war years here, that Rafik Hariri had always strived, he said, to remove, to remove those dark days, those dark decades, from Lebanon's history, to move this country forward and to try to integrate it in a wider Middle East peace process that he was a passionate believer in.
Brent Sadler, CNN, Beirut.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: In this country, the man who went on a shooting spree in the Hudson Valley Mall had a lurid fascination with the Columbine High School shootings. That's according to the D.A., who also says police found a cache of Columbine memorabilia in the suspect's bedroom. Police say that suspect, Robert Bonnelli, Jr., used an assault type weapon to spray the crowd.
And that has prompted one U.S. senator to urge his colleagues to rethink the end of the gun ban.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: It's unfortunate that terrible incidents like the one that occurred in Kingston yesterday are the only thing that might prick the conscience of Washington and get the assault weapons ban renewed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: CNN's Jason Carroll now takes a closer look at just what happened in the town of Ulster, New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Early Sunday, authorities say Robert Bonelli went to this Wal-Mart in upstate New York, bought 60 rounds of ammunition and began to carry out the plan he had been plotting for some time. They believe he headed to a park, loaded his semiautomatic assault rifle, went to the Best Buy's parking lot at a mall in the town of Ulster and opened fire, shooting three rounds into the store's glass doors, the fragments injuring a customer.
Bonelli fired more shots once in the store, reloaded and headed inside the mall.
ANTHONY BLACK, MALL EMPLOYEE: I saw somebody coming out of Best Buy holding -- it's unmistakable what it was. It was a, you know, an assault weapon.
COHEN: Anthony Black works at Dick's Sporting Goods. His family was in the mall during the shooting. So instead of running away from Bonelli, Black followed him, watched as he shot one man, then stopped.
BLACK: The gun goes down to the side.
CARROLL (on camera): So he throws the gun down?
BLACK: Off to the side. His arms started to go up. I don't know what he's -- I don't know what he's going to do. I came behind him, grabbed his arms, brought them up behind his back and forcibly put him to the floor.
CARROLL (voice-over): Black and two others held Bonelli for several minutes until help came.
BLACK: My first and only thought this entire time, I wanted to make sure that my family -- that this guy could not hurt my family or anybody else. CARROLL: After his arrest, investigators headed to Bonelli's home, where they found what they described as Columbine memorabilia. After interviews with Bonelli, they learned he had respect for the two students who killed 13 people and themselves in the high school shooting in 1999.
DONALD WILLIAMS, ULSTER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: And had an interest that I think can best be described as a lurid fascination with the details of what occurred. Now, whether or not that specifically entered into the operation of his mind when he did this indiscriminate shooting, I simply will not speculate.
ROBERT BONELLI, SR., SUSPECT'S FATHER: He just walked out the door and said, "Dad, I'll see you." And that was the last I saw him.
CARROLL: Black can't understand why anyone would do what Bonelli did, nor does he think of himself as a hero for his actions. He does, however, think about Bonelli's last words before police took him away.
BLACK: The only other thing he said was, "Did I kill anybody?"
CARROLL (on camera): Despite firing some 60 rounds, just two people were hurt during the shooting. The most seriously hurt, a man who has a severe injury to his leg. Bonelli is 24 years old. He lived at home with his father. His father has been quoted as saying that his son is a good person deep down inside, he was just crying out for help.
Jason Carroll, CNN, the town of Ulster, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: It reads like a who's who list, a long one. Michael Jackson's lawyers read their witness list in court, it was so long, the judge had to call a break. Jury selection has resumed and lawyers from both sides ran down a list of potential witnesses.
Jackson's list includes Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor and Kobe Bryant, and many, many, many more.
Outside of the courtroom, small groups of loyal fans are still showing up outside of the Santa Maria, California courtroom to support the pop star.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICHOLE ANGELIC JACKSON, JACKSON SUPPORTER: I believe that Michael is so innocent, because he loves kids, and not for the wrong reasons, like Corey Feldman said. And 9/11, when they were leaving New York, well, Corey Feldman wanted to go with Michael and he couldn't. And I think he got kind of mad. So he's maybe saying some things now to get a little attention for himself, pub, you know, publicity.
B.J. HICKMAN, JACKSON SUPPORTER: About a month ago, I traveled five days on a Greyhound bus just to get here. QUESTION: Why?
HICKMAN: Just to support Michael. Because he says in his song, "Will you be there?," he goes, "in my darkest hour and my deepest despair, will you still care? Will you be there?" So this is it. And we're here and we're going to stay here until the day they bring him innocent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Unusual happenings outside the courtroom and inside the courtroom, as well.
With me now long time attorney and courtroom observer, Lauren Handler.
Welcome, Lauren.
LAUREN HANDLER, TRIAL ATTORNEY: Good morning.
COSTELLO: So this defense witness list, 366 names. That seems excessive.
HANDLER: It seems very excessive and it's very unlikely that his lawyers will call that many witnesses to the trial.
COSTELLO: Well, let's run down some of the names on that list. I gave viewers a couple. But also on the list, Elizabeth Taylor. We sort of get that, because that would be a character reference, right?
But there are other names, as well, like Kobe Bryant?
HANDLER: I don't know what Mr. Bryant might know that would be relevant. These names are probably, some people know, have seen Michael Jackson with the accuser and his family and might have some relevant information about how they interacted. Others are supposedly character witnesses. I don't know where Mr. Bryant would fall or what reaction he would have with this jury.
COSTELLO: Well, he has people on here like the Backstreet Boy, Nick Carter, and his brother, Aaron Carter, and...
HANDLER: I don't know if they're going to bring in a long list of people he hasn't molested. That might be part of the strategy, that he's been with other young people over his lifetime and have always treated them properly. That might be another strategy.
COSTELLO: Of course, Corey Feldman went on national television and said he had doubts about Michael Jackson's behavior toward him now.
HANDLER: Right.
COSTELLO: So that could be damaging to him. Who knows, though?
This brings up a problem for prosecutors, though, because they have to pay attention to this huge long list of witnesses and actually try to question all of them.
HANDLER: That's part of the strategy, probably, as well. If you throw a lot of names at the prosecutor, it's going to keep them busy trying to run down what these people might know, send out investigators to talk to them and maybe keep their eye off the ball of the trial.
COSTELLO: What I also found interesting as to names on this list of defense witnesses, Michael Jackson wants to call his own children to the stand. And these are little kids.
HANDLER: I don't know what they would bring. I would think, as a defense attorney, that might backfire because the jury might think that he's exploiting his own children. And I don't think that will (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
COSTELLO: Well, especially if they wear those veils over their faces.
HANDLER: I think the judge probably would tell them not to do that.
COSTELLO: OK, so the jury has these questionnaires and defense attorneys are questioning the prospective jurors to sit on the final panel.
HANDLER: Right.
COSTELLO: Some of the things that defense attorneys are asking them, if police has special credibility in their eyes.
What direction is the defense team going by asking that specific question?
HANDLER: The defense wants to know the type of jurors who are going to sit and if they have a certain mind set that would make them believe the prosecution witnesses or believe the police. Some people think if a defendant has been brought to trial they must be guilty because the police don't make those types of mistakes and don't make charges.
So the defense really wants to know what the attitude of the jurors are to law enforcement, to people in authority, and whether they look up to them and would tend to believe them just because of the positions that they hold.
COSTELLO: This process is going to go on many, many more days.
HANDLER: It shall.
COSTELLO: Lauren Handler, thanks for helping us sort it out this morning.
HANDLER: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Multicultural mind set at one of the nation's biggest retail chains. Coming up, a new initiative begins today to get more minorities in those orange aprons.
And how will the latest big telecom deal affect your monthly bill -- or will it?
And the NHL on the verge of kissing the entire season good-bye. I'll talk to a sports reporter about who really ends up in the penalty box.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 6:17 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
The son of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister killed in a blast on Monday, visited the street today where his father was killed. Authorities are looking for a man who claimed responsibility for the bombing in a statement aired on the Al Jazeera network.
The Bush administration is proposing sending up to 10,000 United Nations troops to Sudan. The troops would monitor a cease-fire agreement in the Darfur region and the movement of any armed groups.
In money news, Cal Ripken, Jr. will anchor the lineup on X.M. Radio's new major league baseball channel. The round the clock channel launches today with several big name hosts and replays of classic games.
In culture, Chris Rock has made some harsh comments about the Oscars, even though he will host the awards show later this month. The comedian called the concept "idiotic" and says he only watches when black actors are nominated. Producers say there's no pressure to remove him from his hosting duties despite his remarks.
In sports, it looks like there really will not be any goals or games in the National Hockey League this season. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will hold a news conference tomorrow where he is expected to announce the official cancellation of the whole dang season -- Chad.
MYERS: Carol, aren't we going to talk about this at like 6:50?
COSTELLO: Yes.
MYERS: Yes, we're going to have a special guest on.
Great.
COSTELLO: And you're excited about that, because I know you're hot about this. MYERS: Well, you know, I was hot about it 35 days ago, but now it's just over and I've lost interest. And I think a lot of hockey fans are just disgusted.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
Coming up next, mixed signals. Does it really matter to you that Verizon and MCI want to do business together?
And Home Depot wants more do-it-yourselfers to see Naranja. We'll explain.
And later, public schools and bible class -- think they don't go together? One town begs to differ.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi.
Good morning, everyone.
I'm Carrie Lee at the Nasdaq market site.
Home Depot is trying to tap into the Hispanic community by hiring them. The home improvement chain is launching a partnership with four Hispanic organizations to recruit Spanish speaking employees. The company already has similar agreements with senior citizen and military groups. Overall, Wal-Mart has over -- Home Depot, excuse me -- has over 300,000 employees at nearly 2,000 stores.
And the move is expected to tap into the valuable Hispanic customer base and its buying power, which is expected to reach $1 trillion over the next few years.
Home Depot's big rival, Lowe's, has similar agreements in place, although they don't have any formal agreements with the Hispanic community.
So that it the latest on Home Depot.
Turning to the markets, futures looking flat after a pretty lackluster session yesterday. The Dow, though, is in positive territory by about 8 points on the year. And we will be keeping an eye on shares of Wal-Mart. The "Wall Street Journal" says the cheapest thing about the discounter may be its stock price.
So that is the latest business news.
DAYBREAK will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Verizon is buying MCI. SBC is going for AT&T. Big deals, indeed. Verizon's offering $6.7 billion for MCI. A cost svgs of $1 billion is expected from the deal. But there is this -- Verizon has a plan to cut 7,000 jobs, and that has got to hurt.
Let's give all this telecom stuff a closer look.
Helping us to do that, Steve Rosenbush, a senior writer for "Business Week" magazine.
Good morning, Steve.
STEVE ROSENBUSH, "BUSINESS WEEK": Good morning.
How are you?
COSTELLO: I'm fine.
You know, when Verizon and MCI made this big announcement, there was no mention of consumers.
So does that mean it's really not a big deal for us?
ROSENBUSH: You know, there has been so much change in the telecom world over the last few years that consumers really do need to wake up and take stock of what's going on. I don't think that this deal in particular is going to hurt them, but consumers do need to understand that they choices. If they forget about that, they can still end up paying way too much for phone service.
COSTELLO: Yes, but the choices will no longer involve MCI, which is strange for many consumers.
ROSENBUSH: It's unsettling because many people, many people remember these companies as monoliths that where everywhere. But what people have to remember is that cable TV companies, wireless phone companies provide some sort of alternative right now, a real alternative that didn't exist years ago.
COSTELLO: Well, tell us about some of those alternatives so we don't have to deal with the MCIs of the world anymore.
ROSENBUSH: Consumers have all sorts of choices that they, they couldn't even imagine a few years ago. The local phone as we know it, the long distance phone call as we know it, has changed a lot. You can find the same service from a wireless phone company for, in many cases, an incredibly low price. You can find the same service from an Internet phone company, like Vonage. And we'll probably see an increasing alternative from the cable TV companies over the next few years.
COSTELLO: So you can get your phone service through your computer, use your computer for your phone service.
ROSENBUSH: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: A lot of people aren't even using like land lines anymore, as we used to call them. They're using their cell phones and skipping over even the local services that are being offered for telephone service.
ROSENBUSH: Absolutely. But people should remember that if they're not fairly aggressive and alert, that they can end up over paying. There's still plenty of people paying exorbitant rates to traditional long distance companies because they simply haven't bothered to go through the company's literature and marketing brochures and figure out what's going on.
COSTELLO: That takes so much work, though, Steve.
ROSENBUSH: It does. It's not easy. The market works better for consumers who are alert, but consumers aren't protected the way they were.
COSTELLO: OK, so since Verizon and MCI have merged, they're going to be battling for some of the cable business, aren't they? For your Internet, those bundles that you buy?
ROSENBUSH: That's what they said, yes.
COSTELLO: That's what they said.
So you could possibly get a better deal for cable service and Internet service because of these mergers or not?
ROSENBUSH: By the end of this year we'll start to see some real competition between the cable TV companies and the phone companies for the very first time. By the end of this year, Comcast, which is the nation's largest cable TV operator, will be able to provide phone service to all of its customers.
COSTELLO: Wow!
ROSENBUSH: So it says. And we'll increasingly see companies like Verizon and like, to some extent, SBC offering television over very, very high speed phone lines.
COSTELLO: And hopefully a lot of price breaks for consumers.
ROSENBUSH: We'll see.
COSTELLO: Steve Rosenbloom, thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
ROSENBUSH: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Coming up in the last half hour of DAYBREAK, some dramatic moments in the murder trial of a South Carolina teenager. Now the jury wrestles with some very tough questions.
And what is on your mind? Is it Iraq? The economy? We'll get the latest take on what Americans are thinking about.
We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A show of support for marriage. A Valentine's Day demonstrate down South has some people feeling the love.
Also ahead in the last half hour of DAYBREAK, a chilly ending to the hockey season. It's looking like no Stanley Cup this year.
And good morning to you.
Welcome to the last half hour of DAYBREAK.
From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
Now in the news, the son of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri visited the scene today where his father was killed. A bomb, possibly 700 pounds of explosives, killed Hariri and 15 others. About 140 people were wounded.
The defense is expected to begin presenting its case this morning in the Robert Blake trial. The actor was taken out of the courtroom in tears yesterday as prosecutors closed their case with audiotapes of Blake talking about his daughter.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
