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American Morning

U.S.-Syria Tension; Teen Convicted; Top Dog

Aired February 16, 2005 - 08:59 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: There are several developing stories in the Middle East on the day that former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is buried in Beirut. Tensions spike even higher between the United States and Syria. And now Iran is involved as well, declaring an alliance against the United States. High stakes and hard pressure on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. 9:00 here in New York. New developments. Let's get right to them now out of the Middle East.

Several stories crossing the wires in the last hour or so. A large blast reported Wednesday near the southern port city of Dailam in Iran. That's according to Iranian state television.

The TV reports that witnesses claim the blast was the result of a missile fired from a plane seen overhead. We are tracking that story at this hour.

O'BRIEN: Also, lots more to talk about with Iran apparently joining an alliance of sorts with Syria as pressure mounts on the country. We're going to talk with the Syrian ambassador to the United States about that.

HEMMER: Stay tuned. In the meantime, here's Jack again.

Good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: The "Question of the Day" is about hybrid cars. Because they get much better gas mileage, owners pay less gas tax at the pump. Now some States are thinking about the way they tax us, and they want to tax by the mile, instead of the amount of gasoline you buy.

Good idea or not? AM@CNN.com.

O'BRIEN: People aren't exactly cheering it this morning.

CAFFERTY: Well, no. It's a disincentive, for one thing, to go out and buy one of these hybrid cars which reduced our dependence on Middle East oil. So, I mean, if you start there it's not a great idea.

Plus, people just get -- they want to put a GPS device in the car so they can record how many miles you drive, which is, you know, tantamount to Big Brother-ism. I mean, people just feel like they've had enough taxes and government and spying and all that stuff.

O'BRIEN: Well, Jack, thank you.

HEMMER: More headlines from the Middle East in a moment. Rest of the headlines now. Here's Heidi Collins.

Good morning.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. And good morning to you, everyone.

"Now in the News" this morning, hundreds of thousands of mourners packing the streets in Beirut today for the burial of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The body arriving at a mosque in Beirut's old center some three hours ago. Hariri was killed along with 16 others in an apparent suicide bombing on Monday. We are following the fallout from this story all morning long.

Word of an explosion in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. These pictures now from the scene just into CNN. A car bomb apparently exploded alongside a U.S. military convoy. Several people were said to be injured. We'll watch that one for you as well.

In California, the Michael Jackson child molestation trial on hold again. A weeklong delay ordered yesterday after Jackson was admitted to a Santa Maria hospital with flu-like symptoms. Medical sources say Jackson is in stable condition, waiting for the doctor's OK to go home. We're going to have a live report from Santa Maria coming up.

And a baby in Sri Lanka reunited with his parents almost two months after being separated from them in the tsunami disaster. The infant known as "Baby 81" was legally handed over to his parents earlier this morning. Relatives say they'll keep the celebrations low key, though, out of respect for other families who lost children during the tsunami disaster.

Obviously, thrilled nonetheless. Back over to you.

HEMMER: Thank you, Heidi.

Serious new developments to bring you up to date now. Two countries both locked in diplomatic struggles now with the U.S. Reuters now reporting that officials of Syria and Iran say they want to build a common front to face the challenges and threats against their countries.

The agency also reporting that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns in Beirut today, calling for the complete and immediate withdrawal of Syrian troops out of Lebanon, now numbering about 13,000. He's in Beirut for the funeral of assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

There is also suspicion about Syria's role in that assassination. That has led Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to charge that Syria's presence in Lebanon is destabilizing that country. She has recalled the U.S. ambassador to Syria, and Syria's ambassador to the U.S. shooting back now that accusations from Washington against Damascus supporting terrorism are akin to the American claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

Those are the headline as we have them at this hour.

With us now from Washington to add more to this is the Syrian ambassador to the U.S., Imad Moustapha. He's in our D.C. bureau.

And sir, good morning to you.

IMAD MOUSTAPHA, SYRIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: Good morning.

HEMMER: Thank you for your time. First of all, the common threats against Syria and the common threats against Iran, common threats from where and from whom?

MOUSTAPHA: First, I'm not sure about the report you have just released about the common front. The only common front we had once with Iran was when we were both opposing the regime of Saddam Hussein. However, this is not the issue.

The issue is the following. In the past 18 months, Syria tried every possible venue to constructively engage with the United States. Whenever the United States came to Syria asking us for assistance on issues they wanted our assistance -- and I will list them to you right now -- we immediately engaged with the United States.

This has included our support for the elections in Iraq, our securing the borders. We have done everything possible to secure the borders between Syria and Iraq. And most importantly, our continuous assistance to the United States and its fight against extremism and terrorism.

HEMMER: Let me stop you there.

MOUSTAPHA: Yes.

HEMMER: You said a lot. I want to take our viewers through this. Now, you're saying that you cannot confirm this report. Are you saying the report's wrong?

MOUSTAPHA: I don't know about this report. What I know is we don't need an alliance against the United States.

What we want is to engage the United States. Actually, let me say this to you. The latest message I communicated from my government to the administration of the United States is the following message: Syria has the political will and desire to constructively engage with the United States and to improve relations with the United States. We are appalled...

HEMMER: OK, that's the first point then. Let me move to the second point. MOUSTAPHA: Yes.

HEMMER: Do you believe your country has been threatened by the U.S.?

MOUSTAPHA: We do not think, to be realistic, that there are impending threat against our countries. But we are opposed by this political atmosphere of the United States is trying to create, vis-a- vis Syria, and we think this is worrying a lot.

Let me remind you of this basic fundamental fact. We think that the atrocious crime that took place in Beirut two days ago, assassinating a national leader, a great leader and a friend of Syria, Rafik Hariri, should not be used for political reasons to score points against Syria. This does not fit a national disaster...

HEMMER: And you've denied any involvement in that assassination on behalf of the Syrians. Let me move...

MOUSTAPHA: We don't do not only deny...

HEMMER: I'm sorry, just in the interest of time, we've got a lot to go through. The headlines are extensive so far today for the Middle East.

William Burns, apparently in Beirut for the funeral of Rafik Hariri, is reported through Reuters as saying that the U.S. is calling for the immediate withdraw of all 13,000 Syrian troops in Lebanon. Will you heed that warning and get out?

MOUSTAPHA: What I'm trying to say is the following: the United States is trying to benefit from a national catastrophe that befell Lebanon and that is grazing (ph) Syria to score political points against -- what I'm trying to say...

HEMMER: Then why is it necessary to be present in Lebanon today with 13,000 troops?

MOUSTAPHA: Let me say this, in Lebanon -- in Lebanon, the Lebanese are divided on one thing, about our -- the presence of our troops in the border areas. Our troops are not in any major Lebanese city. And definitely not in Beirut. We have been out of Beirut for at least two years.

But, however, what we are telling the United States, look, there will be elections very soon in Lebanon. And Lebanon has had free democratic elections every four years. The forthcoming elections are planned next April. That's very soon. And we have repeatedly said whatever the Lebanese government will ask us to do, we will do.

HEMMER: But at this point...

MOUSTAPHA: If they ask us to...

(CROSSTALK) HEMMER: I'm sorry, Mr. Ambassador, I don't mean to talk over you. I don't mean to be disingenuous in any way. But you're saying that, no, the troops will not leave at this point, right, yes or no?

MOUSTAPHA: No, I did not say this. What I'm trying to say is we have continuously re-deployed our troops outside Lebanon. We had 42,000 troops at the peak of our presence.

We entered there to end a civil war. Today, we have 13,000 troops. And what I'm saying is, there will be a Lebanese government that is democratically elected that represents the Lebanese people next April.

Whatever the government would say, this government is asking our troops to stay. When they will ask us to leave, we will leave immediately. We will not blink an eye. Don't try to score politically on a national disaster as befell Lebanon.

HEMMER: I understand your point there. I want you to listen to the former U.S. ambassador to Syria on our program last hour. He says your country wants it both ways. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THEODORE KATTOUF, FMR. U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SYRIA: Syria can't have it both ways. If it says it's in Lebanon for security and stability, how did the prime minister of Lebanon, an international figure, meet with a horrific death in Beirut in the heart of the hotel district in a year in which tourism had never been higher since the civil war?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: If that's the case, then how could such a security breach occur?

MOUSTAPHA: I'm surprised. I have a lot of respect for Ambassador Kattouf, but yet I think he has got it absolutely wrong.

You have 150,000 troops in Iraq and you can't stop acts of terrorism. We have 13,000 troops. And this is a horrendous act of terrorism that really, really targets what's beyond the assassination of Rafik Hariri. It actually tries to target Syria itself.

And what's happening right now on this media channel is an example that will exonerate what I'm saying. Syria has been targeted by the assassination of Rafik Hariri. And by saying we have 13,000 troops in Lebanon, so how come such a crime happens, well, I don't think this is a very strong argument. Look at the 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

HEMMER: Imad Moustapha is the Syrian ambassador to the U.S. Thanks for sharing your thoughts this morning. We'll talk again.

MOUSTAPHA: Thank you.

HEMMER: Here's Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Two cyclones are tearing through the South Pacific. Cyclone Olaf is now battering American Samoa with Category 5 winds. At the top of the scale, Cyclone Nancy, is a Category 3. It's making Olaf's path somewhat unpredictable. Olaf battered the island of Samoa with 120-mile-an-hour winds yesterday but it never even made landfall.

Turning now to the weather, Chad Myers at the CNN Center with the latest forecast for us.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Well, there is a surprising link this morning between coffee and cancer prevention. We're going to explain just ahead.

HEMMER: Also in a moment, are you better off being treated by a younger or an older doctor? A new study outlining the risks. We'll get to it.

O'BRIEN: And the Zoloft defense fails. The teenager gets 30 years in prison for killing his grandparents. We talk to his sister just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: There are now even more developments as we report on this explosion in southwest Iran. Officials at the Russian embassy in Tehran telling CNN in a telephone interview that there has been no explosion at the Bushehr nuclear plant. Russia, though, is building the plant, so that is why they may have more information than others.

And we also understand that this story is changing through the morning. We're trying our best now to sift through the news we have.

There are also reports on Iranian TV that that explosion may have been caused by a fuel tank dropping from an Iranian airplane overhead. You see the area highlighted in green near a city called Dailam in southwestern Iran. Several versions now of the story. We'll keep you posted as we move through the morning here -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Here in the United States, lawyers for the 15-year-old boy who was found guilty yesterday of killing his grandparents say they plan to appeal the conviction. The jury rejected defense arguments that the antidepressant Zoloft made Chris Pittman do it.

He's 15 now. He was 12 at the time of the killings. A judge sentenced him to 30 years in prison.

Earlier, I spoke with some of his family members and his attorney as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Joining us this morning, Danielle Pittman is Christopher's sister, Paul Waldner is Christopher's defense attorney. And Delnora Duprey is Christopher's grandmother on his mother's side. Thank you for talking with us. We certainly appreciate it.

Danielle, I'm going to start with you. Were you surprised by this verdict?

DANIELLE PITTMAN, SISTER: I was very surprised. I honestly thought that in the court system that justice would be served. And in this case it wasn't.

My brother should have gotten not guilty. I have no doubt about that. And I wouldn't think twice about having him stay in the same house with me.

I slept in the same room with him while he was out on bond. I was just completely heartbroken when I heard the verdict.

O'BRIEN: Have you spoken to him lately?

PITTMAN: No, I haven't spoken to him lately. I got to see him right after the verdict was read. He was taken into the break room. And I got to tell him that I love him and give him a hug. I was not able to hug him after the sentence, and that was -- that was really hard.

O'BRIEN: Mr. Waldner, the jury did not buy the defense argument that it was Zoloft that had a role in Christopher's actions. Why do you think the jurors didn't -- didn't -- didn't buy into that?

PAUL WALDNER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I'm not certain about that, Soledad, from what we've heard from interviews with the jurors after the trial, that they felt that Zoloft played a part in it. Obviously, they didn't feel that it played a big enough part to establish reasonable doubt in their mind.

For a lawyer, it's very frustrating to hear that type of news. But I think when you begin with the stipulation that Christopher, in fact, killed his grandparents, at that point, that any defense to that is met justifiably with a considerable amount of skepticism by the jury, and the rest of the trial is our attempt to overcome that skepticism. I think we may have gotten very close to it but we may not have completely overcome it.

O'BRIEN: Ms. Duprey, the way it works now, Christopher could be in his early 40s before he's released from prison, and this is with time for good behavior. How do you think he's going to do?

DELNORA DUPREY, GRANDMOTHER: Christopher's holding up very well, but we will not think in terms of 30 years. That's just not going to happen. We will never quit fighting.

When they sentenced a 15-year-old boy yesterday, what they act actually were sentencing was a 12-year-old boy. And that is just not -- not acceptable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That was Chris Pittman's family members, and also his attorney talking to us a little bit earlier today.

Chris Pittman was tried as an adult. He was given the minimum sentence. He's going to serve two concurrent sentences of 30 years apiece. The judge could have given him life in prison -- Bill.

HEMMER: About 17 minutes now past the hour. A much lighter note in a moment here. Meet the new top dog in town. Carlee's best in show at the Westminster Dog Show last night, and you will see her this morning up close and personal. Carlee's cool, too, next here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Best in show, this year's Westminster, the German short-haired pointer.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. What a great selection. What a great performance this dog put on, absolutely flawless!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: 165 breeds and varieties of canines coming together in New York at the annual Westminster Kennel Dog Show. Nobody was dogging last night's winner, best in show. The name is Carlee, a German short-haired pointer. And Carlee is here this morning with her handler, Michelle Ostermiller. And USA Network analyst David Frei with me now as well.

Good morning to all of you.

DAVID FREI, USA NETWORK ANALYST: Good morning.

HEMMER: Long night for all of you. And thanks for coming in here.

FREI: Thank you.

HEMMER: Carlee is a beautiful, beautiful dog. What makes her so special?

MICHELLE OSTERMILLER, HANDLER: Well, Carlee's a great show dog. She really loves to go out there and perform for the people. And the support she gets, she really enjoys it.

HEMMER: And she's so calm now.

OSTERMILLER: She's very calm.

HEMMER: Is she tired?

OSTERMILLER: She's tired, but this is the way she is.

HEMMER: Really?

OSTERMILLER: She's a very calm dog.

HEMMER: Now, you were the handler last year for the winner, right, Michelle?

OSTERMILLER: I was.

HEMMER: Can you compare Carlee to the massive dog that we talked about a year ago at this time?

OSTERMILLER: Well, there's a lot of differences between showing her and showing Josh, the Newfoundland. She's a lot more animated. There's a lot more style that goes with that, going to the end of the lead and free-stacking, as she does, flying around the ring.

HEMMER: Look the at her. She is chilling out this morning, isn't she?

David, what did you think was special about Carlee this year?

FREI: Well, it's a dog show, and you got a show, is the vernacular we have. And she certainly did that.

There were seven great dogs in there at the end. And none of them let down. It's just, she took it one step -- one step up further and made it happen.

HEMMER: There was a huge crowd this year at Madison Square Garden. You had sellouts what, both nights?

FREI: The first sellout in our history.

HEMMER: What explains that popularity, David?

FREI: Well, I think it's the spiritual and emotional connection that we have to our dogs. We can relate to them as members of our family, and we want to get out there and root for our own dogs. Kind of the alma mater factor.

HEMMER: Sure. So that takes me to my question, then, do dogs recognize when the audience is responding to them?

FREI: Absolutely. Absolutely. And the smart handlers will play the dog to the crowd to try and get the crowd lit up into the dog. And when she went out there and threw that free stack, and Michelle had her at the end of the...

HEMMER: What's a free stack?

FREI: It's where the dog poses on its own without any poking or prodding from the handler. And when she went out there and put a free stack in the ring at the request of the judge, the crowd went nuts.

HEMMER: I would have to...

FREI: And I think that lifted the dog another level as well.

HEMMER: Is that the biggest challenge for the dog, to perform by itself without a handler in the middle of all those people?

OSTERMILLER: It's a big challenge. You know? And certainly, at a time like that you hope you have your best performance. And Carlee did it.

HEMMER: I asked David about the audience question. Do you sense it in the dog when the people respond?

OSTERMILLER: I do. I think Carlee sensed it last night. The longer she stood there, the more applause she got. And it -- she really -- she felt it.

HEMMER: What's in your hand over there, Michelle?

OSTERMILLER: This is a treat for Carlee. She likes her food very much. And she's trained to do things for her food.

HEMMER: She's beautiful. Congratulations again, Michelle.

OSTERMILLER: Thank you very much.

FREI: Thank you very much.

HEMMER: Two years in a row. You're doing all right, you know that?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Carlee's now going to go into breeding sometime very soon, maybe before the summertime, heading home to Colorado. Beautiful dog.

O'BRIEN: Yes, she's going to become a mother. Isn't that sweet?

(CROSSTALK)

CAFFERTY: Well, that's where the bucks are, you know. When you win the trophy, then you go have a lot of little pointers and then you, you know, rake in the cash. They're going to be dragging that dog around to Charlie Rose tonight. That's awful.

HEMMER: All day long. And "Letterman" too.

CAFFERTY: That's awful.

O'BRIEN: Maybe the dog enjoys it.

CAFFERTY: Huh?

O'BRIEN: Maybe the dog enjoys it.

CAFFERTY: Oh, yes, this is fun, right?

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: Hemmer was very nice to the dog. It was fun for the dog.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

The "Question of the Day" -- bring that dog in, enjoys it? The dog would be out enjoying it if he was out looking for other dogs.

HEMMER: Birds.

CAFFERTY: Or birds.

More fuel-efficient hybrid cars. I mean, motorists pay less in gas taxes. So states are looking to tax motorists by the mile in order to make up for the potential lost revenue.

No good deed goes unpunished. You buy a hybrid car, they're going to tax you by the mile because you don't pay as much at the pump.

A GPS device will be installed in your car, and then you'll be charged based on how far you drive, not how much gas you use. The system is already being tested in Oregon.

The question is, should states replace gas taxes with a tax by the mile on cars?

"Yeah, sure," writes Joe in New Jersey. "A state should tax by the mile. While they're at it, why don't you tax by the foot? How about a breath tax? You know, the more you breathe, the more you have to pay?"

Robert in Dallas, "Gas tax by the mile? Sure, let's encourage everyone to buy vehicles that get 10 miles to the gallon. Talk about regressive tax."

Carmella in Odessa, New York, "All the tax on mileage does is penalize those of us who live in the country. We have to drive to work, shopping and entertainment, as there is no public transportation in our county. Just another way for Big Brother to take what little money we can make."

And Sandor writes: "If you left it up to the oil companies, those driving less would be taxed more as punishment for not supporting the economy."

Well -- you know, silly.

HEMMER: It's something you don't like.

CAFFERTY: Well, it's -- it's a disincentive to go out and buy these hybrid cars. Plus, it will create a whole other government thing that will cost us even more than the extra money they'll raise. Because if they're going to have GPS tracking devices, somebody has to, you know, contract for those, somebody is going to have to install them, somebody is going to have to maintain them, somebody's going to have to fix them, somebody's going to have to replace them.

I mean, it's just another way to invent more government.

HEMMER: Let's stick a GPS on the back of his fender and follow Jack around.

CAFFERTY: Believe me, it would be a short, boring trip. I commute from here to New Jersey and back.

HEMMER: Well, you walk during the day.

CAFFERTY: Well, I -- yes, but I don't take my car when I walk.

HEMMER: Thank you, Jack. See you later.

Much more AMERICAN MORNING coming up here in a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER (voice-over): Ahead on "90-Second Pop," get ready for Brad and Jen overload. From magazines to books, the biggest Hollywood split in years does big business.

Plus...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from New York, it's "Saturday Night."

HEMMER: ... "SNL's" glory days coming back to primetime. But is it too much for the current cast to live up to? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody. Almost 9:30 here in New York City now.

The diplomatic pressure cranked up again today in the Middle East. The U.S. demanding again today that Syria withdraw 13,000 troops out of Lebanon. And we talked about that now for the past few hours.

This week's assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri continues to send tremors through the region. So we'll get more on that in a moment.

O'BRIEN: Also this morning, in Iran, Reuters is reporting what's being called a common front between Iran and Syria. The declaration as it is actually worded is somewhat vague. But the Iranian president is reported as saying, "We are ready to help Syria on all grounds to confront threats."

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Aired February 16, 2005 - 08:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: There are several developing stories in the Middle East on the day that former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is buried in Beirut. Tensions spike even higher between the United States and Syria. And now Iran is involved as well, declaring an alliance against the United States. High stakes and hard pressure on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. 9:00 here in New York. New developments. Let's get right to them now out of the Middle East.

Several stories crossing the wires in the last hour or so. A large blast reported Wednesday near the southern port city of Dailam in Iran. That's according to Iranian state television.

The TV reports that witnesses claim the blast was the result of a missile fired from a plane seen overhead. We are tracking that story at this hour.

O'BRIEN: Also, lots more to talk about with Iran apparently joining an alliance of sorts with Syria as pressure mounts on the country. We're going to talk with the Syrian ambassador to the United States about that.

HEMMER: Stay tuned. In the meantime, here's Jack again.

Good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: The "Question of the Day" is about hybrid cars. Because they get much better gas mileage, owners pay less gas tax at the pump. Now some States are thinking about the way they tax us, and they want to tax by the mile, instead of the amount of gasoline you buy.

Good idea or not? AM@CNN.com.

O'BRIEN: People aren't exactly cheering it this morning.

CAFFERTY: Well, no. It's a disincentive, for one thing, to go out and buy one of these hybrid cars which reduced our dependence on Middle East oil. So, I mean, if you start there it's not a great idea.

Plus, people just get -- they want to put a GPS device in the car so they can record how many miles you drive, which is, you know, tantamount to Big Brother-ism. I mean, people just feel like they've had enough taxes and government and spying and all that stuff.

O'BRIEN: Well, Jack, thank you.

HEMMER: More headlines from the Middle East in a moment. Rest of the headlines now. Here's Heidi Collins.

Good morning.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. And good morning to you, everyone.

"Now in the News" this morning, hundreds of thousands of mourners packing the streets in Beirut today for the burial of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The body arriving at a mosque in Beirut's old center some three hours ago. Hariri was killed along with 16 others in an apparent suicide bombing on Monday. We are following the fallout from this story all morning long.

Word of an explosion in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. These pictures now from the scene just into CNN. A car bomb apparently exploded alongside a U.S. military convoy. Several people were said to be injured. We'll watch that one for you as well.

In California, the Michael Jackson child molestation trial on hold again. A weeklong delay ordered yesterday after Jackson was admitted to a Santa Maria hospital with flu-like symptoms. Medical sources say Jackson is in stable condition, waiting for the doctor's OK to go home. We're going to have a live report from Santa Maria coming up.

And a baby in Sri Lanka reunited with his parents almost two months after being separated from them in the tsunami disaster. The infant known as "Baby 81" was legally handed over to his parents earlier this morning. Relatives say they'll keep the celebrations low key, though, out of respect for other families who lost children during the tsunami disaster.

Obviously, thrilled nonetheless. Back over to you.

HEMMER: Thank you, Heidi.

Serious new developments to bring you up to date now. Two countries both locked in diplomatic struggles now with the U.S. Reuters now reporting that officials of Syria and Iran say they want to build a common front to face the challenges and threats against their countries.

The agency also reporting that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns in Beirut today, calling for the complete and immediate withdrawal of Syrian troops out of Lebanon, now numbering about 13,000. He's in Beirut for the funeral of assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

There is also suspicion about Syria's role in that assassination. That has led Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to charge that Syria's presence in Lebanon is destabilizing that country. She has recalled the U.S. ambassador to Syria, and Syria's ambassador to the U.S. shooting back now that accusations from Washington against Damascus supporting terrorism are akin to the American claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

Those are the headline as we have them at this hour.

With us now from Washington to add more to this is the Syrian ambassador to the U.S., Imad Moustapha. He's in our D.C. bureau.

And sir, good morning to you.

IMAD MOUSTAPHA, SYRIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: Good morning.

HEMMER: Thank you for your time. First of all, the common threats against Syria and the common threats against Iran, common threats from where and from whom?

MOUSTAPHA: First, I'm not sure about the report you have just released about the common front. The only common front we had once with Iran was when we were both opposing the regime of Saddam Hussein. However, this is not the issue.

The issue is the following. In the past 18 months, Syria tried every possible venue to constructively engage with the United States. Whenever the United States came to Syria asking us for assistance on issues they wanted our assistance -- and I will list them to you right now -- we immediately engaged with the United States.

This has included our support for the elections in Iraq, our securing the borders. We have done everything possible to secure the borders between Syria and Iraq. And most importantly, our continuous assistance to the United States and its fight against extremism and terrorism.

HEMMER: Let me stop you there.

MOUSTAPHA: Yes.

HEMMER: You said a lot. I want to take our viewers through this. Now, you're saying that you cannot confirm this report. Are you saying the report's wrong?

MOUSTAPHA: I don't know about this report. What I know is we don't need an alliance against the United States.

What we want is to engage the United States. Actually, let me say this to you. The latest message I communicated from my government to the administration of the United States is the following message: Syria has the political will and desire to constructively engage with the United States and to improve relations with the United States. We are appalled...

HEMMER: OK, that's the first point then. Let me move to the second point. MOUSTAPHA: Yes.

HEMMER: Do you believe your country has been threatened by the U.S.?

MOUSTAPHA: We do not think, to be realistic, that there are impending threat against our countries. But we are opposed by this political atmosphere of the United States is trying to create, vis-a- vis Syria, and we think this is worrying a lot.

Let me remind you of this basic fundamental fact. We think that the atrocious crime that took place in Beirut two days ago, assassinating a national leader, a great leader and a friend of Syria, Rafik Hariri, should not be used for political reasons to score points against Syria. This does not fit a national disaster...

HEMMER: And you've denied any involvement in that assassination on behalf of the Syrians. Let me move...

MOUSTAPHA: We don't do not only deny...

HEMMER: I'm sorry, just in the interest of time, we've got a lot to go through. The headlines are extensive so far today for the Middle East.

William Burns, apparently in Beirut for the funeral of Rafik Hariri, is reported through Reuters as saying that the U.S. is calling for the immediate withdraw of all 13,000 Syrian troops in Lebanon. Will you heed that warning and get out?

MOUSTAPHA: What I'm trying to say is the following: the United States is trying to benefit from a national catastrophe that befell Lebanon and that is grazing (ph) Syria to score political points against -- what I'm trying to say...

HEMMER: Then why is it necessary to be present in Lebanon today with 13,000 troops?

MOUSTAPHA: Let me say this, in Lebanon -- in Lebanon, the Lebanese are divided on one thing, about our -- the presence of our troops in the border areas. Our troops are not in any major Lebanese city. And definitely not in Beirut. We have been out of Beirut for at least two years.

But, however, what we are telling the United States, look, there will be elections very soon in Lebanon. And Lebanon has had free democratic elections every four years. The forthcoming elections are planned next April. That's very soon. And we have repeatedly said whatever the Lebanese government will ask us to do, we will do.

HEMMER: But at this point...

MOUSTAPHA: If they ask us to...

(CROSSTALK) HEMMER: I'm sorry, Mr. Ambassador, I don't mean to talk over you. I don't mean to be disingenuous in any way. But you're saying that, no, the troops will not leave at this point, right, yes or no?

MOUSTAPHA: No, I did not say this. What I'm trying to say is we have continuously re-deployed our troops outside Lebanon. We had 42,000 troops at the peak of our presence.

We entered there to end a civil war. Today, we have 13,000 troops. And what I'm saying is, there will be a Lebanese government that is democratically elected that represents the Lebanese people next April.

Whatever the government would say, this government is asking our troops to stay. When they will ask us to leave, we will leave immediately. We will not blink an eye. Don't try to score politically on a national disaster as befell Lebanon.

HEMMER: I understand your point there. I want you to listen to the former U.S. ambassador to Syria on our program last hour. He says your country wants it both ways. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THEODORE KATTOUF, FMR. U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SYRIA: Syria can't have it both ways. If it says it's in Lebanon for security and stability, how did the prime minister of Lebanon, an international figure, meet with a horrific death in Beirut in the heart of the hotel district in a year in which tourism had never been higher since the civil war?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: If that's the case, then how could such a security breach occur?

MOUSTAPHA: I'm surprised. I have a lot of respect for Ambassador Kattouf, but yet I think he has got it absolutely wrong.

You have 150,000 troops in Iraq and you can't stop acts of terrorism. We have 13,000 troops. And this is a horrendous act of terrorism that really, really targets what's beyond the assassination of Rafik Hariri. It actually tries to target Syria itself.

And what's happening right now on this media channel is an example that will exonerate what I'm saying. Syria has been targeted by the assassination of Rafik Hariri. And by saying we have 13,000 troops in Lebanon, so how come such a crime happens, well, I don't think this is a very strong argument. Look at the 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

HEMMER: Imad Moustapha is the Syrian ambassador to the U.S. Thanks for sharing your thoughts this morning. We'll talk again.

MOUSTAPHA: Thank you.

HEMMER: Here's Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Two cyclones are tearing through the South Pacific. Cyclone Olaf is now battering American Samoa with Category 5 winds. At the top of the scale, Cyclone Nancy, is a Category 3. It's making Olaf's path somewhat unpredictable. Olaf battered the island of Samoa with 120-mile-an-hour winds yesterday but it never even made landfall.

Turning now to the weather, Chad Myers at the CNN Center with the latest forecast for us.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Well, there is a surprising link this morning between coffee and cancer prevention. We're going to explain just ahead.

HEMMER: Also in a moment, are you better off being treated by a younger or an older doctor? A new study outlining the risks. We'll get to it.

O'BRIEN: And the Zoloft defense fails. The teenager gets 30 years in prison for killing his grandparents. We talk to his sister just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: There are now even more developments as we report on this explosion in southwest Iran. Officials at the Russian embassy in Tehran telling CNN in a telephone interview that there has been no explosion at the Bushehr nuclear plant. Russia, though, is building the plant, so that is why they may have more information than others.

And we also understand that this story is changing through the morning. We're trying our best now to sift through the news we have.

There are also reports on Iranian TV that that explosion may have been caused by a fuel tank dropping from an Iranian airplane overhead. You see the area highlighted in green near a city called Dailam in southwestern Iran. Several versions now of the story. We'll keep you posted as we move through the morning here -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Here in the United States, lawyers for the 15-year-old boy who was found guilty yesterday of killing his grandparents say they plan to appeal the conviction. The jury rejected defense arguments that the antidepressant Zoloft made Chris Pittman do it.

He's 15 now. He was 12 at the time of the killings. A judge sentenced him to 30 years in prison.

Earlier, I spoke with some of his family members and his attorney as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Joining us this morning, Danielle Pittman is Christopher's sister, Paul Waldner is Christopher's defense attorney. And Delnora Duprey is Christopher's grandmother on his mother's side. Thank you for talking with us. We certainly appreciate it.

Danielle, I'm going to start with you. Were you surprised by this verdict?

DANIELLE PITTMAN, SISTER: I was very surprised. I honestly thought that in the court system that justice would be served. And in this case it wasn't.

My brother should have gotten not guilty. I have no doubt about that. And I wouldn't think twice about having him stay in the same house with me.

I slept in the same room with him while he was out on bond. I was just completely heartbroken when I heard the verdict.

O'BRIEN: Have you spoken to him lately?

PITTMAN: No, I haven't spoken to him lately. I got to see him right after the verdict was read. He was taken into the break room. And I got to tell him that I love him and give him a hug. I was not able to hug him after the sentence, and that was -- that was really hard.

O'BRIEN: Mr. Waldner, the jury did not buy the defense argument that it was Zoloft that had a role in Christopher's actions. Why do you think the jurors didn't -- didn't -- didn't buy into that?

PAUL WALDNER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I'm not certain about that, Soledad, from what we've heard from interviews with the jurors after the trial, that they felt that Zoloft played a part in it. Obviously, they didn't feel that it played a big enough part to establish reasonable doubt in their mind.

For a lawyer, it's very frustrating to hear that type of news. But I think when you begin with the stipulation that Christopher, in fact, killed his grandparents, at that point, that any defense to that is met justifiably with a considerable amount of skepticism by the jury, and the rest of the trial is our attempt to overcome that skepticism. I think we may have gotten very close to it but we may not have completely overcome it.

O'BRIEN: Ms. Duprey, the way it works now, Christopher could be in his early 40s before he's released from prison, and this is with time for good behavior. How do you think he's going to do?

DELNORA DUPREY, GRANDMOTHER: Christopher's holding up very well, but we will not think in terms of 30 years. That's just not going to happen. We will never quit fighting.

When they sentenced a 15-year-old boy yesterday, what they act actually were sentencing was a 12-year-old boy. And that is just not -- not acceptable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That was Chris Pittman's family members, and also his attorney talking to us a little bit earlier today.

Chris Pittman was tried as an adult. He was given the minimum sentence. He's going to serve two concurrent sentences of 30 years apiece. The judge could have given him life in prison -- Bill.

HEMMER: About 17 minutes now past the hour. A much lighter note in a moment here. Meet the new top dog in town. Carlee's best in show at the Westminster Dog Show last night, and you will see her this morning up close and personal. Carlee's cool, too, next here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Best in show, this year's Westminster, the German short-haired pointer.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. What a great selection. What a great performance this dog put on, absolutely flawless!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: 165 breeds and varieties of canines coming together in New York at the annual Westminster Kennel Dog Show. Nobody was dogging last night's winner, best in show. The name is Carlee, a German short-haired pointer. And Carlee is here this morning with her handler, Michelle Ostermiller. And USA Network analyst David Frei with me now as well.

Good morning to all of you.

DAVID FREI, USA NETWORK ANALYST: Good morning.

HEMMER: Long night for all of you. And thanks for coming in here.

FREI: Thank you.

HEMMER: Carlee is a beautiful, beautiful dog. What makes her so special?

MICHELLE OSTERMILLER, HANDLER: Well, Carlee's a great show dog. She really loves to go out there and perform for the people. And the support she gets, she really enjoys it.

HEMMER: And she's so calm now.

OSTERMILLER: She's very calm.

HEMMER: Is she tired?

OSTERMILLER: She's tired, but this is the way she is.

HEMMER: Really?

OSTERMILLER: She's a very calm dog.

HEMMER: Now, you were the handler last year for the winner, right, Michelle?

OSTERMILLER: I was.

HEMMER: Can you compare Carlee to the massive dog that we talked about a year ago at this time?

OSTERMILLER: Well, there's a lot of differences between showing her and showing Josh, the Newfoundland. She's a lot more animated. There's a lot more style that goes with that, going to the end of the lead and free-stacking, as she does, flying around the ring.

HEMMER: Look the at her. She is chilling out this morning, isn't she?

David, what did you think was special about Carlee this year?

FREI: Well, it's a dog show, and you got a show, is the vernacular we have. And she certainly did that.

There were seven great dogs in there at the end. And none of them let down. It's just, she took it one step -- one step up further and made it happen.

HEMMER: There was a huge crowd this year at Madison Square Garden. You had sellouts what, both nights?

FREI: The first sellout in our history.

HEMMER: What explains that popularity, David?

FREI: Well, I think it's the spiritual and emotional connection that we have to our dogs. We can relate to them as members of our family, and we want to get out there and root for our own dogs. Kind of the alma mater factor.

HEMMER: Sure. So that takes me to my question, then, do dogs recognize when the audience is responding to them?

FREI: Absolutely. Absolutely. And the smart handlers will play the dog to the crowd to try and get the crowd lit up into the dog. And when she went out there and threw that free stack, and Michelle had her at the end of the...

HEMMER: What's a free stack?

FREI: It's where the dog poses on its own without any poking or prodding from the handler. And when she went out there and put a free stack in the ring at the request of the judge, the crowd went nuts.

HEMMER: I would have to...

FREI: And I think that lifted the dog another level as well.

HEMMER: Is that the biggest challenge for the dog, to perform by itself without a handler in the middle of all those people?

OSTERMILLER: It's a big challenge. You know? And certainly, at a time like that you hope you have your best performance. And Carlee did it.

HEMMER: I asked David about the audience question. Do you sense it in the dog when the people respond?

OSTERMILLER: I do. I think Carlee sensed it last night. The longer she stood there, the more applause she got. And it -- she really -- she felt it.

HEMMER: What's in your hand over there, Michelle?

OSTERMILLER: This is a treat for Carlee. She likes her food very much. And she's trained to do things for her food.

HEMMER: She's beautiful. Congratulations again, Michelle.

OSTERMILLER: Thank you very much.

FREI: Thank you very much.

HEMMER: Two years in a row. You're doing all right, you know that?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Carlee's now going to go into breeding sometime very soon, maybe before the summertime, heading home to Colorado. Beautiful dog.

O'BRIEN: Yes, she's going to become a mother. Isn't that sweet?

(CROSSTALK)

CAFFERTY: Well, that's where the bucks are, you know. When you win the trophy, then you go have a lot of little pointers and then you, you know, rake in the cash. They're going to be dragging that dog around to Charlie Rose tonight. That's awful.

HEMMER: All day long. And "Letterman" too.

CAFFERTY: That's awful.

O'BRIEN: Maybe the dog enjoys it.

CAFFERTY: Huh?

O'BRIEN: Maybe the dog enjoys it.

CAFFERTY: Oh, yes, this is fun, right?

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: Hemmer was very nice to the dog. It was fun for the dog.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

The "Question of the Day" -- bring that dog in, enjoys it? The dog would be out enjoying it if he was out looking for other dogs.

HEMMER: Birds.

CAFFERTY: Or birds.

More fuel-efficient hybrid cars. I mean, motorists pay less in gas taxes. So states are looking to tax motorists by the mile in order to make up for the potential lost revenue.

No good deed goes unpunished. You buy a hybrid car, they're going to tax you by the mile because you don't pay as much at the pump.

A GPS device will be installed in your car, and then you'll be charged based on how far you drive, not how much gas you use. The system is already being tested in Oregon.

The question is, should states replace gas taxes with a tax by the mile on cars?

"Yeah, sure," writes Joe in New Jersey. "A state should tax by the mile. While they're at it, why don't you tax by the foot? How about a breath tax? You know, the more you breathe, the more you have to pay?"

Robert in Dallas, "Gas tax by the mile? Sure, let's encourage everyone to buy vehicles that get 10 miles to the gallon. Talk about regressive tax."

Carmella in Odessa, New York, "All the tax on mileage does is penalize those of us who live in the country. We have to drive to work, shopping and entertainment, as there is no public transportation in our county. Just another way for Big Brother to take what little money we can make."

And Sandor writes: "If you left it up to the oil companies, those driving less would be taxed more as punishment for not supporting the economy."

Well -- you know, silly.

HEMMER: It's something you don't like.

CAFFERTY: Well, it's -- it's a disincentive to go out and buy these hybrid cars. Plus, it will create a whole other government thing that will cost us even more than the extra money they'll raise. Because if they're going to have GPS tracking devices, somebody has to, you know, contract for those, somebody is going to have to install them, somebody is going to have to maintain them, somebody's going to have to fix them, somebody's going to have to replace them.

I mean, it's just another way to invent more government.

HEMMER: Let's stick a GPS on the back of his fender and follow Jack around.

CAFFERTY: Believe me, it would be a short, boring trip. I commute from here to New Jersey and back.

HEMMER: Well, you walk during the day.

CAFFERTY: Well, I -- yes, but I don't take my car when I walk.

HEMMER: Thank you, Jack. See you later.

Much more AMERICAN MORNING coming up here in a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER (voice-over): Ahead on "90-Second Pop," get ready for Brad and Jen overload. From magazines to books, the biggest Hollywood split in years does big business.

Plus...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from New York, it's "Saturday Night."

HEMMER: ... "SNL's" glory days coming back to primetime. But is it too much for the current cast to live up to? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody. Almost 9:30 here in New York City now.

The diplomatic pressure cranked up again today in the Middle East. The U.S. demanding again today that Syria withdraw 13,000 troops out of Lebanon. And we talked about that now for the past few hours.

This week's assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri continues to send tremors through the region. So we'll get more on that in a moment.

O'BRIEN: Also this morning, in Iran, Reuters is reporting what's being called a common front between Iran and Syria. The declaration as it is actually worded is somewhat vague. But the Iranian president is reported as saying, "We are ready to help Syria on all grounds to confront threats."

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