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CNN Live At Daybreak

Rising Tensions; 'War Room'; Tough Sell?; Zoloft Defense Fails

Aired February 16, 2005 - 05:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And we wanted to get to some of our e-mails, because viewers have been e-mailing in droves about this tax- by-the-mile idea in California. Want to raise tax dollars by taxing every mile you drive.
This is from Eric (ph) from Dallas, Texas. Tax by the mile, what if you have a really long driveway?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I saw that one.

This one is from Jack (ph) in Connecticut. It's amazing a government can monitor millions of Californians trying to pay taxes on their car but can't figure out how to find and keep track of legal and illegal aliens.

COSTELLO: This is from Mike (ph) from Indiana. He says I have a better idea than a per mile tax, why not put a sensor in one of our molars and have a per bite tax. Not only could the government exploit other senseless acts the people cannot avoid, but it might also help curb obesity and lower my insurance premiums.

Keep them coming, DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

MYERS: You picked up some of the sublime ones there -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes. DAYBREAK@CNN.com is the e-mail address.

Here's what's all new in the next half-hour of DAYBREAK.

Iraq, Iran, North Korea and now Syria, what the United States is doing to put the freeze on relations with Damascus.

Plus, why a South Carolina jury rejected the Zoloft defense and decided instead to send this 15-year-old boy to prison.

We're back after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.

"Now in the News."

From Beirut, Lebanon, a funeral for former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Hariri was assassinated Monday in a car bombing. Sixteen others were also killed. The funeral is being held at a mosque that was being built by the former Lebanese official.

The Kyoto Treaty, aimed at lowering the world's temperature, went into effect at midnight Eastern Time. The United State is not part of that accord. The White House says the treaty would put five million people out of a job.

Four-and-a-half hours from now, Alan Greenspan testifies before a Senate banking committee. The financial markets are closely watching what the Federal Reserve chair says about the nation's monetary policy.

And American Samoa residents are bracing for Cyclone Olaf. It's expected to hit just about 90 minutes from now. Wind gusts are up to, what, Chad, 190 miles an hour or more?

MYERS: Inside the storm itself they're going 140 to about 170 knots. Now you still have to do the multiplication to actually get that up to miles per hour. And, yes, that's almost 200 miles per hour, so it would be considered a category 5 hurricane.

But because of where it is, in what ocean it is, and it's near Australia down by Pago Pago, they're calling it a tropical cyclone. It's still the same thing. Cyclones, typhoons, hurricanes all the same general principle, just obviously different names because of different oceans.

(WEATHER REPORT)

And we'll get to that in 15 minutes, Carol, we're a little behind the clock right now. Back to you.

COSTELLO: We'll catch up.

MYERS: All right.

COSTELLO: Thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: The U.S. is sending a clear message to Syria this morning, get out of Lebanon. Tensions on the rise after the assassination of a former Lebanese prime minister.

And as our senior White House correspondent John King reports, the Bush administration is taking action.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The White House decision to recall the U.S. ambassador for urgent consultations is part of an aggressive new administration effort to isolate Syria.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The Syrian government is, unfortunately, on a path right now where relations are not improving but are worsening. KING: Syria denies any role in Monday's assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, but the Bush administration quickly seized on the murder to challenge Syria's longstanding claim that its troops are needed in Lebanon to provide security.

RICE: There is no doubt that the conditions created by Syria's presence there have created a destabilized situation in Lebanon. That's very clear to everyone.

KING: Before leaving Damascus, Ambassador Margaret Scobie delivered a blunt note, not only calling on Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, but also complaining it supports Hezbollah and other terror attacks on Israel and allowed a supply line to insurgents in Iraq. President Bush last year imposed economic sanctions on Syria. And U.S. officials say more are likely soon, perhaps including a ban on Syrian exports to the United States.

RICE: The United States does not like the direction of U.S.- Syrian relations. And we will continue to consider what other options are at our disposal.

KING: But finding allies in this tougher approach may not be easy. The European Union's chief diplomat says Syria's military presence in Lebanon is not reason enough to change relations.

JAVIER SOLANA, E.U. FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF: It depends on how the responsibilities on the assassination of Mr. Hariri resolves.

KING: The United States also objected to Russian plans to sell missiles to Syria, but Israel's prime minister says the sale is going forward.

ARIEL SHARON, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: That is a very dangerous thing if that would be in the hands of a terrorist organization.

KING: And at the United Nations, the Security Council would not go as far as the White House wanted in putting new pressure on Syria.

(on camera): A new council's statement condemning the Hariri assassination urges all parties to implement previous resolutions stressing Lebanon's sovereignty and its territorial integrity. The United States and France wanted a direct reference to Syria and its troops but accepted less confrontational language to win unanimous council backing.

John King, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: The crumbling U.S. ties with Syria top our "War Room" segment this morning. Will Syria become a new addition to the Bush administration's "Axis of Evil?"

Joining us now for a look ahead is CNN's senior international editor David Clinch.

Morning -- David.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Good morning, Carol.

And, yes, as John was talking there, over the last few years, the U.S. and its relations with Syria has been going to and fro offering concessions, offering cooperation in some areas, looking for cooperation, especially on the border with Iraq and in terms of the insurgency within Iraq.

Some signs we had thought and we had seen of encouraging signs with Syria over the last year or so in that area. But now the U.S. ambassador has been pulled out. The U.S. has done everything except accuse Syria of direct involvement of the assassination of Hariri in Lebanon.

And as we look at these pictures from Beirut today, the population there in Lebanon, at least the opposition, screaming for Syria to pull its troops out of Lebanon immediately. And the U.S. certainly aligning itself with those calls and really putting the pressure on Syria.

So I mean if we look at this now, Syria, North Korea, Iran, those are the three countries we're talking about right now.

COSTELLO: I want to talk specifically about Condoleezza Rice calling back the U.S. ambassador. Put that in perspective for us, is that a very serious move?

CLINCH: It is a serious move. Not only where she pulled, she delivered a quite pointed memo to the Syrian government before she left, demanding that the Syrians look again at this U.N. resolution calling for them to pull troops out of Lebanon. And also asking for them to, in terms of their relationship with Lebanon, to be very aware that the U.S. is not happy with what happened, the assassination of Hariri. Again, falling short of accusing them directly, but certainly pointing out that the U.S. is very unhappy.

And also she's coming back to Washington and there is no date for her return to Damascus. We're watching very closely today whether Syria will do what under normal circumstances countries do, which is to pull their ambassador from Washington. They haven't done that yet, but we're watching closely.

COSTELLO: David Clinch, live in Atlanta this morning, thank you.

President Bush heads to New Hampshire to pitch his new Social Security plan. Will the Granite State warm up to the idea of diverting Social Security funds? We'll see if we can get a reading from the locals. Just ahead, we'll have more on the president's arrival in New Hampshire today.

And the Zoloft defense, hear from one of the jurors about why they rejected it.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:43 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Think all those drugs on the shelves are safe? The Food and Drug Administration isn't taking anything for granted. It's creating a new panel to monitor drugs for safety risks, even after they've gotten government approval.

There's a new top dog in America, a German short-haired pointer named Carlee took the top honor at the 129th Westminster Kennel Club Show last night. More than 2,500 dogs were entered.

In money news, get in line for the chicken. McDonald's is giving away its Chicken Selects tomorrow through Sunday during lunch hour. The fast food giant is hoping to lure more chicken lovers to its restaurants.

In culture, Mississippi rolls out the red carpet for favorite son B.B. King. The Blues legend was in Jackson for the state's official B.B. King holiday. King says this is the first time he's ever been inside the capitol building.

In sports, Ricky Williams, remember him, he still owes the Miami Dolphins more than $8 million bucks. The federal judge upheld the ruling that requires the retired running back to pay back the bonus money. Williams abruptly retired before the start of training camp last season.

To the Forecast Center and -- Chad.

MYERS: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.

In just about six hours, President Bush will be walking up to a microphone in Concord, New Hampshire ready to sell the crowd on Social Security reform. But according to some state surveys, that may be a very tough sell.

Let's get Mark Ericson and Danielle Carrier from WOKQ's Waking Crew on the phone in Portsmouth.

Hello.

MARK ERICSON, WOKQ MORNING WAKING CREW, PORTSMOUTH & MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: Good morning -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So nice to talk to you guys again.

ERICSON: Nice talking to you, too.

COSTELLO: So is there anything the president can say to sell his Social Security plan to the people of New Hampshire?

ERICSON: It's going to be a tough sell, because the state is kind of doing that almost a mirror image of the country. It's almost a 50-50 split. He's going to be at the -- it's a former Air Force base, actually, the Pease Trade Port. The actual name of the town that that is located in is Newington, New Hampshire.

And it's one of these town meeting things where basically Air Force One is going to land and he'll stroll from Air Force One into a hangar and a little over 2,000 people will be packed into that hangar to hear about Social Security.

COSTELLO: Who will those people be, do you know?

ERICSON: The tickets were open to the public basically over the weekend and the first of the week. The call went out through the media to contact your Republican congressman and the first 2,000 in get their tickets. So in theory, it's the first come first serve for the first 2,000 folks that made those calls.

DANIELLE CARRIER, WOKQ MORNING WAKING CREW, PORTSMOUTH & MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: But there will be a lot of people planning protests this morning. They are beginning their protesting at 9:00 a.m. The president isn't scheduled to arrive until 11:00.

COSTELLO: Where are they protesting?

ERICSON: They'll be protesting on the property at Pease Trade Port. It's a former military reservation. So now it's open to the public, so there will be some streets that are still public streets. So as the 2,000 or so faithful are heading into Pease Trade Port, they'll encounter these demonstrations on the outskirts of the property.

COSTELLO: Yes, I didn't think they would get anywhere close to where the president is speaking.

ERICSON: No, no, no.

COSTELLO: I don't think so.

CARRIER: It's a long walk (ph).

COSTELLO: You know the president can be quite charming and quite persuasive. It would be interesting to talk to the people after he holds his town hall style meeting.

ERICSON: Well the folks at the University of New Hampshire released a poll the first of the week, and one of the highlights was that 54 percent of those surveyed thought that investing a portion of Social Security in the stock market was a bad idea. Now 54 percent is not an awful lot tilting the scales, and the margin of error on the poll was about 4.2 percent, so we're really looking at a statistical dead heat.

COSTELLO: Interesting comments this morning.

Mark Ericson, Danielle Carrier, from WOKQ's Waking Crew, joining us live this morning. Thank you.

A legal battle over a young man's state of mind during a horrible crime. A South Carolina jury rejects the Zoloft defense. Find out why they feel this boy deserves to go to prison.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We have new pictures in from Beirut, Lebanon. This is actually tape, but they came to us moments ago during the break.

This is the funeral of Rafik Hariri, the assassinated former prime minister of Lebanon. Hundreds of thousands of mourners are at his funeral procession. This is a two-mile walk. And the tradition here is to take the body from the casket. And this is part of the burial process. And then, as you can see, the mourners around the body look at it and touch it, and eventually the body of Mr. Hariri will be brought to a mosque and then the ceremonies will go on.

The list of dignitaries, not in this crowd but around it but there for the funeral procession, are the French President Jacques Chirac, the British Foreign Minister Jack Straw and the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns.

Want to keep following this throughout the morning, but we thought we'd show you these incredible pictures from Beirut, Lebanon this morning.

A teenaged boy is beginning a 30-year prison sentence in South Carolina for killing his grandparents. Jurors rejected the defense argument that the antidepressant drug Zoloft is to blame.

CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chris Pittman stood with his head down as the verdict was read.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We, the jury, find the defendant guilty of murder.

COHEN: The jury was out for about six hours. One juror said from the start of deliberations, most wanted to convict. They agreed with the prosecution that the child waited to shoot his grandparents in their sleep, then burned down the house as a cover-up. That showed deliberate planning, the jury decided.

STEVEN PLATT, JUROR: He took the time to light the fire, to turn the light on, to hide the shotgun shells. COHEN: The defense argument that the antidepressant drug Zoloft clouded the boy's mind and drove him to kill made little impression on the jury.

PLATT: Always seemed like the defense was grasping at straws, trying to use the, you know, the drug and the side effects as a smokescreen.

Would it actually push him to the point where he would commit murder? No, we came to the decision that it did not.

Just because you take prescription medication doesn't mean you can't be held accountable for your actions.

COHEN: The teenager's family pleaded for mercy.

DANIELLE PITTMAN, OLDER SISTER: Because I know for a fact that there is absolutely no possible way that my brother in his current state of mind could have done something like that.

COHEN: Chris, now 15, spoke only once during the trial, just before he was sentenced.

CHRIS PITTMAN, CONVICTED OF MURDER: All I can really say is that I know it's in the hands of God, and whatever He decides on, that's what it's going to be.

COHEN: It was what the law of the state demanded, no less, no more. The judge gave him the minimum.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a sentence of 30 years.

COHEN: The teenager was led away, to be put back behind bars, probably until he's past 40. His sister was left in tears.

D. PITTMAN: Today has been a lot worse for me than even finding out when all this stuff happened, because I feel like I've truly lost all three of the people that I loved the most.

COHEN (on camera): The FDA has not linked Zoloft and similar drugs to violence against others. However, they do say that antidepressants increase suicidal thoughts and behavior in some children and teens.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Charleston, South Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: For more on this or any other health story, head to our Web site. The address, CNN.com/health.

Speaking of CNN.com, it is time to -- actually, it's time for a break, and I was completely wrong about that. But let me tell you what's coming up on DAYBREAK.

Westminster names its best. I'll talk to the editor of "Animal Fair" magazine. See if you agree with the winning pick.

Also next hour, a national hot spot, one city's push to be the first to offer wireless Internet access anywhere in the city limits.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Now it's time to check out our "Web Clicks." Are you ready, Chad, because...

MYERS: You bet.

COSTELLO: ... my favorite story on CNN.com this morning, the dogs playing poker paintings are actually worth money.

MYERS: They are, a lot of money, almost $600,000 -- Carol.

COSTELLO: That is crazy.

MYERS: For two.

COSTELLO: For the original paintings we're talking about.

MYERS: Yes, right.

COSTELLO: Not the ones you hung up in your dorm room.

MYERS: Well they say they may be worth something on eBay some day, as well, you never know.

COSTELLO: You're right about that. But the two works, "A Bold Bluff" and "Waterloo" went for $600,000. And they were actually painted back in 1903. So there you go.

MYERS: I think this has something to do with that world poker tour. I think people now are just enamored with poker for some reason.

COSTELLO: Maybe you're right.

Hey, I wanted to get to more e-mails, because we had an interesting e-mail question this morning. Out in California, they're actually thinking about taxing drivers per mile because more people are buying hybrid cars, they're saving on gas. And because of that, the cities, the state, or the whole state isn't collecting enough revenue, so they're thinking about taxing people every mile they drive.

MYERS: But isn't that what they wanted? They wanted people to drive the hybrids. They wanted people to get the smaller cars.

COSTELLO: Exactly, but then they went, oh my gosh!

MYERS: But you know what, no one wants a new tax. I will say no matter what, there's not one -- you ask any person here for new taxes, everyone will say no, no, no, no, no. But we did get some pretty sublime answers here. Amazing how the government can monitor millions of Californians to pay taxes but can't figure out how to do anything else. Pay at the pump or pay by the mile. We're already paying at the pump right now.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

This is from Gary (ph). He lives in California. He says he's just dumbfounded on the wisdom of California wise men in the California state capitol. He says he just bought a brand new 2005 Toyota Prius hybrid car. He bought it for the environment and saving on gas prices. I am to the point of moving to Arizona, he says, and getting out of the big tax state. This is what happens when you come from a state that voted for terminator as governor.

MYERS: We have more. Keep them coming.

COSTELLO: Yes, and we'll read them in the next hour of DAYBREAK, which starts right now.

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 16, 2005 - 05:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And we wanted to get to some of our e-mails, because viewers have been e-mailing in droves about this tax- by-the-mile idea in California. Want to raise tax dollars by taxing every mile you drive.
This is from Eric (ph) from Dallas, Texas. Tax by the mile, what if you have a really long driveway?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I saw that one.

This one is from Jack (ph) in Connecticut. It's amazing a government can monitor millions of Californians trying to pay taxes on their car but can't figure out how to find and keep track of legal and illegal aliens.

COSTELLO: This is from Mike (ph) from Indiana. He says I have a better idea than a per mile tax, why not put a sensor in one of our molars and have a per bite tax. Not only could the government exploit other senseless acts the people cannot avoid, but it might also help curb obesity and lower my insurance premiums.

Keep them coming, DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

MYERS: You picked up some of the sublime ones there -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes. DAYBREAK@CNN.com is the e-mail address.

Here's what's all new in the next half-hour of DAYBREAK.

Iraq, Iran, North Korea and now Syria, what the United States is doing to put the freeze on relations with Damascus.

Plus, why a South Carolina jury rejected the Zoloft defense and decided instead to send this 15-year-old boy to prison.

We're back after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.

"Now in the News."

From Beirut, Lebanon, a funeral for former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Hariri was assassinated Monday in a car bombing. Sixteen others were also killed. The funeral is being held at a mosque that was being built by the former Lebanese official.

The Kyoto Treaty, aimed at lowering the world's temperature, went into effect at midnight Eastern Time. The United State is not part of that accord. The White House says the treaty would put five million people out of a job.

Four-and-a-half hours from now, Alan Greenspan testifies before a Senate banking committee. The financial markets are closely watching what the Federal Reserve chair says about the nation's monetary policy.

And American Samoa residents are bracing for Cyclone Olaf. It's expected to hit just about 90 minutes from now. Wind gusts are up to, what, Chad, 190 miles an hour or more?

MYERS: Inside the storm itself they're going 140 to about 170 knots. Now you still have to do the multiplication to actually get that up to miles per hour. And, yes, that's almost 200 miles per hour, so it would be considered a category 5 hurricane.

But because of where it is, in what ocean it is, and it's near Australia down by Pago Pago, they're calling it a tropical cyclone. It's still the same thing. Cyclones, typhoons, hurricanes all the same general principle, just obviously different names because of different oceans.

(WEATHER REPORT)

And we'll get to that in 15 minutes, Carol, we're a little behind the clock right now. Back to you.

COSTELLO: We'll catch up.

MYERS: All right.

COSTELLO: Thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: The U.S. is sending a clear message to Syria this morning, get out of Lebanon. Tensions on the rise after the assassination of a former Lebanese prime minister.

And as our senior White House correspondent John King reports, the Bush administration is taking action.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The White House decision to recall the U.S. ambassador for urgent consultations is part of an aggressive new administration effort to isolate Syria.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The Syrian government is, unfortunately, on a path right now where relations are not improving but are worsening. KING: Syria denies any role in Monday's assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, but the Bush administration quickly seized on the murder to challenge Syria's longstanding claim that its troops are needed in Lebanon to provide security.

RICE: There is no doubt that the conditions created by Syria's presence there have created a destabilized situation in Lebanon. That's very clear to everyone.

KING: Before leaving Damascus, Ambassador Margaret Scobie delivered a blunt note, not only calling on Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, but also complaining it supports Hezbollah and other terror attacks on Israel and allowed a supply line to insurgents in Iraq. President Bush last year imposed economic sanctions on Syria. And U.S. officials say more are likely soon, perhaps including a ban on Syrian exports to the United States.

RICE: The United States does not like the direction of U.S.- Syrian relations. And we will continue to consider what other options are at our disposal.

KING: But finding allies in this tougher approach may not be easy. The European Union's chief diplomat says Syria's military presence in Lebanon is not reason enough to change relations.

JAVIER SOLANA, E.U. FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF: It depends on how the responsibilities on the assassination of Mr. Hariri resolves.

KING: The United States also objected to Russian plans to sell missiles to Syria, but Israel's prime minister says the sale is going forward.

ARIEL SHARON, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: That is a very dangerous thing if that would be in the hands of a terrorist organization.

KING: And at the United Nations, the Security Council would not go as far as the White House wanted in putting new pressure on Syria.

(on camera): A new council's statement condemning the Hariri assassination urges all parties to implement previous resolutions stressing Lebanon's sovereignty and its territorial integrity. The United States and France wanted a direct reference to Syria and its troops but accepted less confrontational language to win unanimous council backing.

John King, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: The crumbling U.S. ties with Syria top our "War Room" segment this morning. Will Syria become a new addition to the Bush administration's "Axis of Evil?"

Joining us now for a look ahead is CNN's senior international editor David Clinch.

Morning -- David.

DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Good morning, Carol.

And, yes, as John was talking there, over the last few years, the U.S. and its relations with Syria has been going to and fro offering concessions, offering cooperation in some areas, looking for cooperation, especially on the border with Iraq and in terms of the insurgency within Iraq.

Some signs we had thought and we had seen of encouraging signs with Syria over the last year or so in that area. But now the U.S. ambassador has been pulled out. The U.S. has done everything except accuse Syria of direct involvement of the assassination of Hariri in Lebanon.

And as we look at these pictures from Beirut today, the population there in Lebanon, at least the opposition, screaming for Syria to pull its troops out of Lebanon immediately. And the U.S. certainly aligning itself with those calls and really putting the pressure on Syria.

So I mean if we look at this now, Syria, North Korea, Iran, those are the three countries we're talking about right now.

COSTELLO: I want to talk specifically about Condoleezza Rice calling back the U.S. ambassador. Put that in perspective for us, is that a very serious move?

CLINCH: It is a serious move. Not only where she pulled, she delivered a quite pointed memo to the Syrian government before she left, demanding that the Syrians look again at this U.N. resolution calling for them to pull troops out of Lebanon. And also asking for them to, in terms of their relationship with Lebanon, to be very aware that the U.S. is not happy with what happened, the assassination of Hariri. Again, falling short of accusing them directly, but certainly pointing out that the U.S. is very unhappy.

And also she's coming back to Washington and there is no date for her return to Damascus. We're watching very closely today whether Syria will do what under normal circumstances countries do, which is to pull their ambassador from Washington. They haven't done that yet, but we're watching closely.

COSTELLO: David Clinch, live in Atlanta this morning, thank you.

President Bush heads to New Hampshire to pitch his new Social Security plan. Will the Granite State warm up to the idea of diverting Social Security funds? We'll see if we can get a reading from the locals. Just ahead, we'll have more on the president's arrival in New Hampshire today.

And the Zoloft defense, hear from one of the jurors about why they rejected it.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:43 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Think all those drugs on the shelves are safe? The Food and Drug Administration isn't taking anything for granted. It's creating a new panel to monitor drugs for safety risks, even after they've gotten government approval.

There's a new top dog in America, a German short-haired pointer named Carlee took the top honor at the 129th Westminster Kennel Club Show last night. More than 2,500 dogs were entered.

In money news, get in line for the chicken. McDonald's is giving away its Chicken Selects tomorrow through Sunday during lunch hour. The fast food giant is hoping to lure more chicken lovers to its restaurants.

In culture, Mississippi rolls out the red carpet for favorite son B.B. King. The Blues legend was in Jackson for the state's official B.B. King holiday. King says this is the first time he's ever been inside the capitol building.

In sports, Ricky Williams, remember him, he still owes the Miami Dolphins more than $8 million bucks. The federal judge upheld the ruling that requires the retired running back to pay back the bonus money. Williams abruptly retired before the start of training camp last season.

To the Forecast Center and -- Chad.

MYERS: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.

In just about six hours, President Bush will be walking up to a microphone in Concord, New Hampshire ready to sell the crowd on Social Security reform. But according to some state surveys, that may be a very tough sell.

Let's get Mark Ericson and Danielle Carrier from WOKQ's Waking Crew on the phone in Portsmouth.

Hello.

MARK ERICSON, WOKQ MORNING WAKING CREW, PORTSMOUTH & MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: Good morning -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So nice to talk to you guys again.

ERICSON: Nice talking to you, too.

COSTELLO: So is there anything the president can say to sell his Social Security plan to the people of New Hampshire?

ERICSON: It's going to be a tough sell, because the state is kind of doing that almost a mirror image of the country. It's almost a 50-50 split. He's going to be at the -- it's a former Air Force base, actually, the Pease Trade Port. The actual name of the town that that is located in is Newington, New Hampshire.

And it's one of these town meeting things where basically Air Force One is going to land and he'll stroll from Air Force One into a hangar and a little over 2,000 people will be packed into that hangar to hear about Social Security.

COSTELLO: Who will those people be, do you know?

ERICSON: The tickets were open to the public basically over the weekend and the first of the week. The call went out through the media to contact your Republican congressman and the first 2,000 in get their tickets. So in theory, it's the first come first serve for the first 2,000 folks that made those calls.

DANIELLE CARRIER, WOKQ MORNING WAKING CREW, PORTSMOUTH & MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: But there will be a lot of people planning protests this morning. They are beginning their protesting at 9:00 a.m. The president isn't scheduled to arrive until 11:00.

COSTELLO: Where are they protesting?

ERICSON: They'll be protesting on the property at Pease Trade Port. It's a former military reservation. So now it's open to the public, so there will be some streets that are still public streets. So as the 2,000 or so faithful are heading into Pease Trade Port, they'll encounter these demonstrations on the outskirts of the property.

COSTELLO: Yes, I didn't think they would get anywhere close to where the president is speaking.

ERICSON: No, no, no.

COSTELLO: I don't think so.

CARRIER: It's a long walk (ph).

COSTELLO: You know the president can be quite charming and quite persuasive. It would be interesting to talk to the people after he holds his town hall style meeting.

ERICSON: Well the folks at the University of New Hampshire released a poll the first of the week, and one of the highlights was that 54 percent of those surveyed thought that investing a portion of Social Security in the stock market was a bad idea. Now 54 percent is not an awful lot tilting the scales, and the margin of error on the poll was about 4.2 percent, so we're really looking at a statistical dead heat.

COSTELLO: Interesting comments this morning.

Mark Ericson, Danielle Carrier, from WOKQ's Waking Crew, joining us live this morning. Thank you.

A legal battle over a young man's state of mind during a horrible crime. A South Carolina jury rejects the Zoloft defense. Find out why they feel this boy deserves to go to prison.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We have new pictures in from Beirut, Lebanon. This is actually tape, but they came to us moments ago during the break.

This is the funeral of Rafik Hariri, the assassinated former prime minister of Lebanon. Hundreds of thousands of mourners are at his funeral procession. This is a two-mile walk. And the tradition here is to take the body from the casket. And this is part of the burial process. And then, as you can see, the mourners around the body look at it and touch it, and eventually the body of Mr. Hariri will be brought to a mosque and then the ceremonies will go on.

The list of dignitaries, not in this crowd but around it but there for the funeral procession, are the French President Jacques Chirac, the British Foreign Minister Jack Straw and the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns.

Want to keep following this throughout the morning, but we thought we'd show you these incredible pictures from Beirut, Lebanon this morning.

A teenaged boy is beginning a 30-year prison sentence in South Carolina for killing his grandparents. Jurors rejected the defense argument that the antidepressant drug Zoloft is to blame.

CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chris Pittman stood with his head down as the verdict was read.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We, the jury, find the defendant guilty of murder.

COHEN: The jury was out for about six hours. One juror said from the start of deliberations, most wanted to convict. They agreed with the prosecution that the child waited to shoot his grandparents in their sleep, then burned down the house as a cover-up. That showed deliberate planning, the jury decided.

STEVEN PLATT, JUROR: He took the time to light the fire, to turn the light on, to hide the shotgun shells. COHEN: The defense argument that the antidepressant drug Zoloft clouded the boy's mind and drove him to kill made little impression on the jury.

PLATT: Always seemed like the defense was grasping at straws, trying to use the, you know, the drug and the side effects as a smokescreen.

Would it actually push him to the point where he would commit murder? No, we came to the decision that it did not.

Just because you take prescription medication doesn't mean you can't be held accountable for your actions.

COHEN: The teenager's family pleaded for mercy.

DANIELLE PITTMAN, OLDER SISTER: Because I know for a fact that there is absolutely no possible way that my brother in his current state of mind could have done something like that.

COHEN: Chris, now 15, spoke only once during the trial, just before he was sentenced.

CHRIS PITTMAN, CONVICTED OF MURDER: All I can really say is that I know it's in the hands of God, and whatever He decides on, that's what it's going to be.

COHEN: It was what the law of the state demanded, no less, no more. The judge gave him the minimum.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a sentence of 30 years.

COHEN: The teenager was led away, to be put back behind bars, probably until he's past 40. His sister was left in tears.

D. PITTMAN: Today has been a lot worse for me than even finding out when all this stuff happened, because I feel like I've truly lost all three of the people that I loved the most.

COHEN (on camera): The FDA has not linked Zoloft and similar drugs to violence against others. However, they do say that antidepressants increase suicidal thoughts and behavior in some children and teens.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Charleston, South Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: For more on this or any other health story, head to our Web site. The address, CNN.com/health.

Speaking of CNN.com, it is time to -- actually, it's time for a break, and I was completely wrong about that. But let me tell you what's coming up on DAYBREAK.

Westminster names its best. I'll talk to the editor of "Animal Fair" magazine. See if you agree with the winning pick.

Also next hour, a national hot spot, one city's push to be the first to offer wireless Internet access anywhere in the city limits.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Now it's time to check out our "Web Clicks." Are you ready, Chad, because...

MYERS: You bet.

COSTELLO: ... my favorite story on CNN.com this morning, the dogs playing poker paintings are actually worth money.

MYERS: They are, a lot of money, almost $600,000 -- Carol.

COSTELLO: That is crazy.

MYERS: For two.

COSTELLO: For the original paintings we're talking about.

MYERS: Yes, right.

COSTELLO: Not the ones you hung up in your dorm room.

MYERS: Well they say they may be worth something on eBay some day, as well, you never know.

COSTELLO: You're right about that. But the two works, "A Bold Bluff" and "Waterloo" went for $600,000. And they were actually painted back in 1903. So there you go.

MYERS: I think this has something to do with that world poker tour. I think people now are just enamored with poker for some reason.

COSTELLO: Maybe you're right.

Hey, I wanted to get to more e-mails, because we had an interesting e-mail question this morning. Out in California, they're actually thinking about taxing drivers per mile because more people are buying hybrid cars, they're saving on gas. And because of that, the cities, the state, or the whole state isn't collecting enough revenue, so they're thinking about taxing people every mile they drive.

MYERS: But isn't that what they wanted? They wanted people to drive the hybrids. They wanted people to get the smaller cars.

COSTELLO: Exactly, but then they went, oh my gosh!

MYERS: But you know what, no one wants a new tax. I will say no matter what, there's not one -- you ask any person here for new taxes, everyone will say no, no, no, no, no. But we did get some pretty sublime answers here. Amazing how the government can monitor millions of Californians to pay taxes but can't figure out how to do anything else. Pay at the pump or pay by the mile. We're already paying at the pump right now.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

This is from Gary (ph). He lives in California. He says he's just dumbfounded on the wisdom of California wise men in the California state capitol. He says he just bought a brand new 2005 Toyota Prius hybrid car. He bought it for the environment and saving on gas prices. I am to the point of moving to Arizona, he says, and getting out of the big tax state. This is what happens when you come from a state that voted for terminator as governor.

MYERS: We have more. Keep them coming.

COSTELLO: Yes, and we'll read them in the next hour of DAYBREAK, which starts right now.

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