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CNN Live At Daybreak

Mixed Emotions After Arrest of Alleged Serial Killer; Michael Jackson's Trial Goes Into Full Swing

Aired February 28, 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.


KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Straight ahead on DAYBREAK, he asked for the world's prayers this weekend and this hour we'll find out how the pope is feeling.
Also, shock, relief and anger -- mixed emotions after the arrest of an alleged serial killer.

And it's been more than a year since he was charged. Now Michael Jackson's trial goes into full swing.

Plus, he played a legend. Now Jamie Foxx has Oscar on his mind.

It is Monday, February 28, and are watching DAYBREAK.

And good Monday morning to you.

From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Kelly Wallace in today for Carol Costello.

Now in the news, at least 110 people are dead and more than 200 others wounded after a suicide car bombing south of Baghdad this morning. The bomber drove into a crowd of police recruits in the town of Hillah.

More Arab support for the new Palestinian government. That's Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's goal this week. She heads to London today to take part in a Mideast conference on Tuesday. Israel is not attending.

Right now thousands of demonstrators are in Martyr's Square in Beirut. They are protesting Syria's military presence in Lebanon. Opposition leaders are seeking a vote to bring down the pro-Syrian government.

"Million Dollar Baby" hits the jackpot. The film dominated most of the top Oscar categories last night. But "The Aviator" came away with the most awards, winning five. We will have much more on the Oscar winners live from Los Angeles later this hour.

Time now to check in with Chad -- Chad, did you stay up late to watch the Oscars?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No. I stayed up late to watch the NASCAR race, but that's about as far as...

WALLACE: Not a big fan of the Oscars, huh? MYERS: You know, I didn't see any of the movies, so I didn't figure it's any reason for me to sit up and watch the awards.

WALLACE: Fair.

MYERS: So, there you go.

But I'll see them on DVD when they come out.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WALLACE: Now to our top stories.

A man suspected of being one of this country's most notorious serial killers could face a judge today. He is known by three simple letters -- BTK. Fifty-nine-year-old Dennis Rader is being held on $10 million bond in the deaths of 10 people between 1974 and 1991. Police arrested Rader Friday. BTK is the killer's self-coined nickname. It stands for bind, torture and kill.

Family members of the victims say they are relieved. Their nightmare may be over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUTH FOX, VICTIM'S MOTHER: I could look in his eyes and see in his eyes that, you know, he was a cruel person. I could tell by looking right in his eyes.

JEFF DAVIS, VICTIM'S SON: It was interesting that what had in the past been just a mindless, faceless image, all of a sudden this devil masquerading as a human being had a face. And it made me sick to my stomach to look at him, and still does. He makes me sick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: BTK is a cold case dating back decades.

How hard is it to crack such a case?

Joining us from Atlanta to talk more about that and much more is law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks -- Mike, thanks for being with us today.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kelly.

WALLACE: So, any sense as you're watching what's coming from law enforcement about how they were able to get to this suspect?

BROOKS: They're not really giving up much information at all. In fact, Kelly, in this particular case, usually leaks, you know, some details come out from law enforcement, from leaks, with local, state, federal investigators somewhere along the way. There has been absolutely nothing coming out of this. And we heard the district attorney on Saturday during the press conference saying that they would not give up any information on any details of the investigation. But, we don't know a lot of things, but we will hear, hopefully, when he does actually have his initial appearance and then his preliminary hearing, which is actually a probable cause hearing, we'll probably hear a little bit more.

But, as we move along in this, there is a lot of evidence. We had murders dating from 1974 and now they say to 1991. We originally had thought, from all the reports of the BTK, that there were two murders in 1974 of the Otero family, the four people there; then another one in 1974; then two murders in 1977; and then there was a -- we thought there was a nine year gap between '77 and '86, but now, on Saturday they announced that there were two additional charges, one in 1985 and one in 1991.

But, again, what is the evidence? We don't know right now if those two additional charges came as a result of a confession by Rader to law enforcement officials. We don't know that. We also don't know if it came from DNA evidence that we had heard that they had against him back during the investigation. Did they get that somehow, from someone, from Rader himself, to compare it with DNA they already had? We don't know.

WALLACE: Listen, Mike, I want you to take a listen to an author who followed the BTK case quite closely, was on CNN last night.

Take a listen to this author.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT BEATTIE, WICHITA LAWYER AND AUTHOR: The majority, such as Dr. John Allen, a local psychologist that was consulted by the police in the '80s, said they thought he would be somebody who was absolutely mainstream, so normal that he would never be a suspect. The example he gave me was if you're looking for somebody like Charles Manson, you're looking for the wrong guy. You get on an elevator with Charles Manson and you want to move to the other side. You get on an elevator with BTK, you're going to smile and nod. You're never going to suspect him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Mike, listening to that, how difficult, when it comes to profiling, if you're looking for Mr. or Ms. Normal, how difficult is it to find?

BROOKS: It is very, very difficult. We just heard the -- what -- the things he was saying is almost fits his pro -- what we're hearing now, if, in fact, this is -- again, innocent until proven guilty -- if this is the BTK killer, it fits exactly what the author was just saying, what Mr. Beattie was just saying, because early on, he was giving out clues and we were saying OK, compare what he was saying and the clues he was giving law enforcement and some of the media outlets in Wichita, let's compare that to actually what this person is all about now, if, in fact, it is.

You know, we thought initially this person would be about 64, 65. He said, the BTK killer had communicated that his father died in World War 2; his grandparents raised him while his mother worked; that his hobbies were hunting, fishing and camping; that around 1960 they said he attended military school and that he served in the military and was discharged in 1966.

These were all clues that the BTK killer had been giving over the years. Now we'll go back and try to find out if, in fact, these do fit Dennis Rader; if, in fact, he is the BTK killer.

WALLACE: A fascinating case.

Mike Brooks from Atlanta, law enforcement analyst.

Thanks for being here.

BROOKS: Thank you for having me.

WALLACE: And you can get many more details on the case tonight in a special edition of "NEWSNIGHT," "Catching BTK," the search for a suspect, the science, the fears. That's tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 p.m. Pacific, only on CNN.

And now some news about the pope.

We understand that we have video coming in of a Vatican spokesperson handing out paper statements of the pope's condition. Italian news services reporting that the pope's condition improving, that the pope is eating regularly. The people's condition good.

We are expecting to hear this statement. And this would be the first bulletin on the pope's health since the pope was in the hospital and had a surgery, a tracheotomy for difficulty breathing.

Again, this statement being handed out now to reporters. And the word we're getting, that the pope's condition improving, eating regularly. We're expecting to hear more.

And, of course, the pope surprising everybody when he appeared at the window of his hospital on Sunday. He did the blessing. He also put his hand at his neck to signal that he could not speak. Doctors have said that he could not be speaking for a number of days, and that is why he did not do the Sunday blessing, the first time in many, many years that the pope did not do that.

So more of the pope's condition.

When that bulletin is coming in, we'll bring it to you here on DAYBREAK.

Turning to Iraq now, a suicide car bombing south of Baghdad this morning has left an enormous toll. The targets -- would be police officers.

Let's head straight to Baghdad and CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson -- Nic, what more can you tell us? NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kelly, the latest figure in the casualty toll that we have from Iraqi police is 110 dead. They say they expect that figure to climb. The Iraqi Red Crescent, the equivalent of the Red Cross here, say that over 200 people have been wounded.

What we are told happened is that a suicide bomber drove his car full of explosives into a line of people outside a medical center in the middle of the town of Hillah this morning. We're told that this was a market area. It was very crowded.

The line of people, we are told, were young police recruits waiting to go into the medical center to get medical checkups as part of their police recruitment process.

What we have -- what we are learning about this so far is that many of the casualties may well have been people who were in the market, market goers, stall holders. It is not clear how many of the dead and wounded were police recruits, how many of them were the people in the market.

What seems to have happened, however, is that insurgents were aware that early in the morning there was the potential for a large number of police recruits to be outside this medical center. The blast happened at about 9:30 in the morning. Over recent weeks and months, we've seen attacks on Iraqi police recruits. Ten killed in one town, maybe 12 in another town. This, by far, the deadliest blast; by far, the deadliest attack on police recruits for many, many months here -- Kelly.

WALLACE: All right, Nic, we'll be checking in with you throughout the morning.

Nic Robertson reporting from Baghdad.

Back in this country now, opening statements in the Michael Jackson trial are now just a few hours away. And while it took less than a week of court time to put together the jury, the latest itself could last several months.

CNN's Chris Lawrence joins us now from Santa Maria, California with more on what we can expect -- good morning, Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Kelly.

Still pretty early here on the West Coast. But when opening statements begin later this morning, we can expect to hear two very different descriptions of both Michael Jackson and his accuser's family.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): When Michael Jackson arrives in court this morning, he'll probably be greeted with the kind of cheering he's heard his whole life. But the only opinions that matter will be those of the jurors sitting in these 12 seats -- four men, eight women, mostly white and Hispanic, the youngest 20, the oldest 79 years old. Four are parents of young children or teenagers.

RICHARD GABRIEL, JURY CONSULTANT: I think parents can cut both ways. I think it's a double-edged sword.

LAWRENCE: Jury consultant Richard Gabriel looks at it like this. Jackson is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy, enticing him with alcohol and attempting to kidnap him and his family. Parents may be horrified by the allegations and decide Jackson crossed the line.

GABRIEL: On the other hand, parents can be extremely critical of the mother in this case, which I think is what the defense is counting on.

LAWRENCE: On Friday, the judge granted a motion that will allow the defense to tell jurors about a lawsuit the mother filed against a department store. She accused security guards of groping her after an alleged shoplifting incident and settled for $150,000.

Attorneys will try to portray Jackson's accusers as a family of professional plaintiffs.

MICHAEL JACKSON, DEFENDANT: I allowed this family into my home because they told me their son was ill with cancer and needed my help.

LAWRENCE: Prosecutors have argued the mother's behavior has nothing to do with charges Jackson fondled her son.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LAWRENCE: Now, just over 3:00 in the morning here. Court is not even going to start for another five hours. We've already got a crowd of about a dozen people already showing up here, a lot of them shouting, "Michael Jackson is innocent!" and accusing the D.A. of being racist for the lack of African-American jurors on this panel -- Kelly.

WALLACE: Yes, Chris, I wanted to pick up on that.

As you know, the Reverend Jesse Jackson issuing a statement critical, saying having no African-Americans on the panel means that Michael Jackson can't really get a fair trial.

What are your sources saying on the defense side about the fact that this jury includes no African-Americans?

LAWRENCE: Well, there is one African-American, an alternate juror, in the alternate pool. But, again, a lot of people here will say well, look at the demographic makeup of this county. You're talking about a county with maybe a 2 percent African-American population here. So if you look at it from the perspective of you're trying to get a representation of the actual community, they'd say well, having one African-American alternate out of a panel of 20 just about fits the demographic here.

WALLACE: All right, Chris, thanks for the update.

Chris Lawrence reporting from Santa Maria, California this morning.

We'll be checking in with you throughout the day.

Still to come here on DAYBREAK, we will look at the case of a 23- year-old from Virginia accused of supporting al Qaeda.

Also this hour, we are awaiting some more information on the condition of Pope John Paul II. We will get more information from Rome as we get it.

And on stage at the Oscars, did the host steal the show?

But first, here is a look at what else is making news this Monday morning, February 28.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

WALLACE: And welcome back.

Your news, money, weather and sports.

It's about 17 minutes after the hour and here is what is all new this morning.

A suicide car bombing south of Baghdad leaves a huge toll this morning. At least 125 people are dead and more than 150 wounded. The bomber drove into a crowd of police recruits in the town of Hillah.

Word just coming in from the Vatican this morning. Vatican officials say the pope is recovering well from his throat surgery last week. They say he is breathing on his own and taking voice therapy.

In money, the owner of Macy's is now buying May. Federated Department Stores agreed to buy out May's more than 450 stores, which include Robinson's May, Lord & Taylor and Marshall Fields. The deal could be worth up to $11 billion.

In culture, the baby brought home the gold. "Million Dollar Baby" was named best picture at last night's Academy Awards. We will have much more on all the Oscar winners and losers coming up later on DAYBREAK.

In sports, Greg Biffle barely held on to win the Auto Club 500 at the California Speedway. He scraped the wall a couple of times on the last few laps, but kept Jimmy Johnson behind him long enough to take that coveted checkered flag.

Time to check in with Chad and weather.

And a late season winter storm -- Chad, right?

MYERS: Yes. It certainly is. Moving up the East Coast, Kelly. Now the snow already into D.C., moving into Philadelphia quickly this morning and then to New York City a little after the noon hour. The snow is going to continue already across parts of Michigan, Ohio and even into Pennsylvania already today, this morning. But it doesn't really get to New York City in earnest until probably 4:00. 4:00 p.m. tonight is when it really starts to snow. And then by 1:00 a.m. tonight, there is enough warm air that comes in from the ocean that it changes over to an icy mix, a rain/snow mix, and then back over to snow as the day goes on tomorrow.

So literally the city itself could pick up four to eight inches of snow. But just west of the city, more than eight. We'll detail it city by city, coming up in 14 minutes.

WALLACE: All right, Chad, we'll talk to you then.

And those are the headlines.

You can say it was not a pretty sight in Modesto, California. We'll tell you what happened when members of Scott Peterson's family and members of his murdered wife's family began taking belongings from Peterson's house.

And in Wichita, on Wednesday evening he was delivering spaghetti sauce and salad to the church. Two nights later, he was a serial killer suspect. Reaction to the BTK arrest from church members straight ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Free newspapers have been around for decades and decades, but this business seems to be exploding right now. Of course, these papers are free to consumers. They're not free to advertisers, and that's how it works. The papers are given away.

So why are free newspapers working right now? Well, readership of traditional newspapers has been fading for a while. Younger people are reading less. They're watching TV more. They're going online more. And free papers tend to be shorter, they tend to be snappier, they're punchier.

The jury is still out as far as how successful free newspapers are in terms of the business model. They seem to be doing OK in Europe. They're not making a lot of money here in the United States. It's a little rough around the edges. But it seems to be gaining momentum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: His church, his family and his community react to the arrest of the suspected BTK serial killer.

Plus, an Arab-American accused in a plot to assassinate the president. Will this young man face a fair justice system?

DAYBREAK has all the answers. We'll be back in just a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: His family says he is innocent, but U.S. officials say he supported terrorists in an alleged plot to assassinate President Bush. Omar Abu Ali is the subject of a "Time" magazine report. The U.S. citizen was jailed for 20 months in Saudi Arabia. Now, he is back in the United States and facing terrorism related charges.

But just how strong is the case against him?

This is our "Just In Time" segment.

Joining us from Washington, "Time" magazine correspondent Viveca Novak.

Viveca, thanks for being here.

VIVECA NOVAK, "TIME" MAGAZINE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kelly.

WALLACE: Looking at your report, you talk about you have a source in the Middle East who has knowledge of the case, saying, "Prosecutors have an uphill battle."

So just how strong is this case against Abu Ali?

NOVAK: Well, even in Saudi Arabia they couldn't build a case against him, and their justice system is a little different from ours. It's probably a little easier there. But they held onto him since early 2003, finally turned him over to the United States, which, it might be said, didn't really want him because they weren't sure that they could bring a case either.

It's really all only come to this because Abu Ali's family filed a civil suit asking him to be returned to the United States and it kind of forced the U.S.' hand.

WALLACE: What kind of evidence are your sources telling you that they have? I understand just in terms of searching his home, they did uncover some materials that could be evidence in the case.

NOVAK: Well, it could be, although, again, it's not much. I think the strongest piece of evidence they have is probably a -- something written by Osama bin Laden's number two, Zawahiri. But, again, it's something in his home. It's not, you know, a list of phone numbers of al Qaeda members or anything like that. And other than that, the witnesses are either people in Saudi jails, they're dead or they're members of the Saudi security service, which, you know, and those people aren't going to be coming here to testify, I don't think.

So it's very much, I think, an uphill battle for the prosecutors.

WALLACE: You also describe in the article almost a sort of a hot potato, really, between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia while he was detained. Each side, you're describing, waiting for the other to charge him with a crime.

NOVAK: That's right. And as I said, it probably -- he'd probably still be sitting in a Saudi jail if his family hadn't filed a civil lawsuit. And he claims he was tortured over there. He's certainly been there quite a long time. The U.S. government says that when a doctor examined him when he was coming to the U.S., they saw no evidence of torture. But even the judge in the civil suit, Judge John Bates, has said that there is circumstantial evidence of some torture. And, as we all know, there is a lot of torture that leaves no marks, as well.

WALLACE: All right, we'll be watching that case.

Viveca Novak with "Just In Time."

Thanks for being here this morning.

We appreciate it.

NOVAK: Good to be with you.

WALLACE: Still to come here on DAYBREAK, with Pope John Paul ailing for the second time in a month, speculation about the future of the papacy is inevitable. We will explore John Paul's legacy with the Catholic Church.

Also, as the BTK killer suspect awaits charges in Wichita, Bob Franken reports live on reaction in the community.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired February 28, 2005 - 06:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Straight ahead on DAYBREAK, he asked for the world's prayers this weekend and this hour we'll find out how the pope is feeling.
Also, shock, relief and anger -- mixed emotions after the arrest of an alleged serial killer.

And it's been more than a year since he was charged. Now Michael Jackson's trial goes into full swing.

Plus, he played a legend. Now Jamie Foxx has Oscar on his mind.

It is Monday, February 28, and are watching DAYBREAK.

And good Monday morning to you.

From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Kelly Wallace in today for Carol Costello.

Now in the news, at least 110 people are dead and more than 200 others wounded after a suicide car bombing south of Baghdad this morning. The bomber drove into a crowd of police recruits in the town of Hillah.

More Arab support for the new Palestinian government. That's Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's goal this week. She heads to London today to take part in a Mideast conference on Tuesday. Israel is not attending.

Right now thousands of demonstrators are in Martyr's Square in Beirut. They are protesting Syria's military presence in Lebanon. Opposition leaders are seeking a vote to bring down the pro-Syrian government.

"Million Dollar Baby" hits the jackpot. The film dominated most of the top Oscar categories last night. But "The Aviator" came away with the most awards, winning five. We will have much more on the Oscar winners live from Los Angeles later this hour.

Time now to check in with Chad -- Chad, did you stay up late to watch the Oscars?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No. I stayed up late to watch the NASCAR race, but that's about as far as...

WALLACE: Not a big fan of the Oscars, huh? MYERS: You know, I didn't see any of the movies, so I didn't figure it's any reason for me to sit up and watch the awards.

WALLACE: Fair.

MYERS: So, there you go.

But I'll see them on DVD when they come out.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WALLACE: Now to our top stories.

A man suspected of being one of this country's most notorious serial killers could face a judge today. He is known by three simple letters -- BTK. Fifty-nine-year-old Dennis Rader is being held on $10 million bond in the deaths of 10 people between 1974 and 1991. Police arrested Rader Friday. BTK is the killer's self-coined nickname. It stands for bind, torture and kill.

Family members of the victims say they are relieved. Their nightmare may be over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUTH FOX, VICTIM'S MOTHER: I could look in his eyes and see in his eyes that, you know, he was a cruel person. I could tell by looking right in his eyes.

JEFF DAVIS, VICTIM'S SON: It was interesting that what had in the past been just a mindless, faceless image, all of a sudden this devil masquerading as a human being had a face. And it made me sick to my stomach to look at him, and still does. He makes me sick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: BTK is a cold case dating back decades.

How hard is it to crack such a case?

Joining us from Atlanta to talk more about that and much more is law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks -- Mike, thanks for being with us today.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kelly.

WALLACE: So, any sense as you're watching what's coming from law enforcement about how they were able to get to this suspect?

BROOKS: They're not really giving up much information at all. In fact, Kelly, in this particular case, usually leaks, you know, some details come out from law enforcement, from leaks, with local, state, federal investigators somewhere along the way. There has been absolutely nothing coming out of this. And we heard the district attorney on Saturday during the press conference saying that they would not give up any information on any details of the investigation. But, we don't know a lot of things, but we will hear, hopefully, when he does actually have his initial appearance and then his preliminary hearing, which is actually a probable cause hearing, we'll probably hear a little bit more.

But, as we move along in this, there is a lot of evidence. We had murders dating from 1974 and now they say to 1991. We originally had thought, from all the reports of the BTK, that there were two murders in 1974 of the Otero family, the four people there; then another one in 1974; then two murders in 1977; and then there was a -- we thought there was a nine year gap between '77 and '86, but now, on Saturday they announced that there were two additional charges, one in 1985 and one in 1991.

But, again, what is the evidence? We don't know right now if those two additional charges came as a result of a confession by Rader to law enforcement officials. We don't know that. We also don't know if it came from DNA evidence that we had heard that they had against him back during the investigation. Did they get that somehow, from someone, from Rader himself, to compare it with DNA they already had? We don't know.

WALLACE: Listen, Mike, I want you to take a listen to an author who followed the BTK case quite closely, was on CNN last night.

Take a listen to this author.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT BEATTIE, WICHITA LAWYER AND AUTHOR: The majority, such as Dr. John Allen, a local psychologist that was consulted by the police in the '80s, said they thought he would be somebody who was absolutely mainstream, so normal that he would never be a suspect. The example he gave me was if you're looking for somebody like Charles Manson, you're looking for the wrong guy. You get on an elevator with Charles Manson and you want to move to the other side. You get on an elevator with BTK, you're going to smile and nod. You're never going to suspect him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Mike, listening to that, how difficult, when it comes to profiling, if you're looking for Mr. or Ms. Normal, how difficult is it to find?

BROOKS: It is very, very difficult. We just heard the -- what -- the things he was saying is almost fits his pro -- what we're hearing now, if, in fact, this is -- again, innocent until proven guilty -- if this is the BTK killer, it fits exactly what the author was just saying, what Mr. Beattie was just saying, because early on, he was giving out clues and we were saying OK, compare what he was saying and the clues he was giving law enforcement and some of the media outlets in Wichita, let's compare that to actually what this person is all about now, if, in fact, it is.

You know, we thought initially this person would be about 64, 65. He said, the BTK killer had communicated that his father died in World War 2; his grandparents raised him while his mother worked; that his hobbies were hunting, fishing and camping; that around 1960 they said he attended military school and that he served in the military and was discharged in 1966.

These were all clues that the BTK killer had been giving over the years. Now we'll go back and try to find out if, in fact, these do fit Dennis Rader; if, in fact, he is the BTK killer.

WALLACE: A fascinating case.

Mike Brooks from Atlanta, law enforcement analyst.

Thanks for being here.

BROOKS: Thank you for having me.

WALLACE: And you can get many more details on the case tonight in a special edition of "NEWSNIGHT," "Catching BTK," the search for a suspect, the science, the fears. That's tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 p.m. Pacific, only on CNN.

And now some news about the pope.

We understand that we have video coming in of a Vatican spokesperson handing out paper statements of the pope's condition. Italian news services reporting that the pope's condition improving, that the pope is eating regularly. The people's condition good.

We are expecting to hear this statement. And this would be the first bulletin on the pope's health since the pope was in the hospital and had a surgery, a tracheotomy for difficulty breathing.

Again, this statement being handed out now to reporters. And the word we're getting, that the pope's condition improving, eating regularly. We're expecting to hear more.

And, of course, the pope surprising everybody when he appeared at the window of his hospital on Sunday. He did the blessing. He also put his hand at his neck to signal that he could not speak. Doctors have said that he could not be speaking for a number of days, and that is why he did not do the Sunday blessing, the first time in many, many years that the pope did not do that.

So more of the pope's condition.

When that bulletin is coming in, we'll bring it to you here on DAYBREAK.

Turning to Iraq now, a suicide car bombing south of Baghdad this morning has left an enormous toll. The targets -- would be police officers.

Let's head straight to Baghdad and CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson -- Nic, what more can you tell us? NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kelly, the latest figure in the casualty toll that we have from Iraqi police is 110 dead. They say they expect that figure to climb. The Iraqi Red Crescent, the equivalent of the Red Cross here, say that over 200 people have been wounded.

What we are told happened is that a suicide bomber drove his car full of explosives into a line of people outside a medical center in the middle of the town of Hillah this morning. We're told that this was a market area. It was very crowded.

The line of people, we are told, were young police recruits waiting to go into the medical center to get medical checkups as part of their police recruitment process.

What we have -- what we are learning about this so far is that many of the casualties may well have been people who were in the market, market goers, stall holders. It is not clear how many of the dead and wounded were police recruits, how many of them were the people in the market.

What seems to have happened, however, is that insurgents were aware that early in the morning there was the potential for a large number of police recruits to be outside this medical center. The blast happened at about 9:30 in the morning. Over recent weeks and months, we've seen attacks on Iraqi police recruits. Ten killed in one town, maybe 12 in another town. This, by far, the deadliest blast; by far, the deadliest attack on police recruits for many, many months here -- Kelly.

WALLACE: All right, Nic, we'll be checking in with you throughout the morning.

Nic Robertson reporting from Baghdad.

Back in this country now, opening statements in the Michael Jackson trial are now just a few hours away. And while it took less than a week of court time to put together the jury, the latest itself could last several months.

CNN's Chris Lawrence joins us now from Santa Maria, California with more on what we can expect -- good morning, Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Kelly.

Still pretty early here on the West Coast. But when opening statements begin later this morning, we can expect to hear two very different descriptions of both Michael Jackson and his accuser's family.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): When Michael Jackson arrives in court this morning, he'll probably be greeted with the kind of cheering he's heard his whole life. But the only opinions that matter will be those of the jurors sitting in these 12 seats -- four men, eight women, mostly white and Hispanic, the youngest 20, the oldest 79 years old. Four are parents of young children or teenagers.

RICHARD GABRIEL, JURY CONSULTANT: I think parents can cut both ways. I think it's a double-edged sword.

LAWRENCE: Jury consultant Richard Gabriel looks at it like this. Jackson is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy, enticing him with alcohol and attempting to kidnap him and his family. Parents may be horrified by the allegations and decide Jackson crossed the line.

GABRIEL: On the other hand, parents can be extremely critical of the mother in this case, which I think is what the defense is counting on.

LAWRENCE: On Friday, the judge granted a motion that will allow the defense to tell jurors about a lawsuit the mother filed against a department store. She accused security guards of groping her after an alleged shoplifting incident and settled for $150,000.

Attorneys will try to portray Jackson's accusers as a family of professional plaintiffs.

MICHAEL JACKSON, DEFENDANT: I allowed this family into my home because they told me their son was ill with cancer and needed my help.

LAWRENCE: Prosecutors have argued the mother's behavior has nothing to do with charges Jackson fondled her son.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LAWRENCE: Now, just over 3:00 in the morning here. Court is not even going to start for another five hours. We've already got a crowd of about a dozen people already showing up here, a lot of them shouting, "Michael Jackson is innocent!" and accusing the D.A. of being racist for the lack of African-American jurors on this panel -- Kelly.

WALLACE: Yes, Chris, I wanted to pick up on that.

As you know, the Reverend Jesse Jackson issuing a statement critical, saying having no African-Americans on the panel means that Michael Jackson can't really get a fair trial.

What are your sources saying on the defense side about the fact that this jury includes no African-Americans?

LAWRENCE: Well, there is one African-American, an alternate juror, in the alternate pool. But, again, a lot of people here will say well, look at the demographic makeup of this county. You're talking about a county with maybe a 2 percent African-American population here. So if you look at it from the perspective of you're trying to get a representation of the actual community, they'd say well, having one African-American alternate out of a panel of 20 just about fits the demographic here.

WALLACE: All right, Chris, thanks for the update.

Chris Lawrence reporting from Santa Maria, California this morning.

We'll be checking in with you throughout the day.

Still to come here on DAYBREAK, we will look at the case of a 23- year-old from Virginia accused of supporting al Qaeda.

Also this hour, we are awaiting some more information on the condition of Pope John Paul II. We will get more information from Rome as we get it.

And on stage at the Oscars, did the host steal the show?

But first, here is a look at what else is making news this Monday morning, February 28.

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WALLACE: And welcome back.

Your news, money, weather and sports.

It's about 17 minutes after the hour and here is what is all new this morning.

A suicide car bombing south of Baghdad leaves a huge toll this morning. At least 125 people are dead and more than 150 wounded. The bomber drove into a crowd of police recruits in the town of Hillah.

Word just coming in from the Vatican this morning. Vatican officials say the pope is recovering well from his throat surgery last week. They say he is breathing on his own and taking voice therapy.

In money, the owner of Macy's is now buying May. Federated Department Stores agreed to buy out May's more than 450 stores, which include Robinson's May, Lord & Taylor and Marshall Fields. The deal could be worth up to $11 billion.

In culture, the baby brought home the gold. "Million Dollar Baby" was named best picture at last night's Academy Awards. We will have much more on all the Oscar winners and losers coming up later on DAYBREAK.

In sports, Greg Biffle barely held on to win the Auto Club 500 at the California Speedway. He scraped the wall a couple of times on the last few laps, but kept Jimmy Johnson behind him long enough to take that coveted checkered flag.

Time to check in with Chad and weather.

And a late season winter storm -- Chad, right?

MYERS: Yes. It certainly is. Moving up the East Coast, Kelly. Now the snow already into D.C., moving into Philadelphia quickly this morning and then to New York City a little after the noon hour. The snow is going to continue already across parts of Michigan, Ohio and even into Pennsylvania already today, this morning. But it doesn't really get to New York City in earnest until probably 4:00. 4:00 p.m. tonight is when it really starts to snow. And then by 1:00 a.m. tonight, there is enough warm air that comes in from the ocean that it changes over to an icy mix, a rain/snow mix, and then back over to snow as the day goes on tomorrow.

So literally the city itself could pick up four to eight inches of snow. But just west of the city, more than eight. We'll detail it city by city, coming up in 14 minutes.

WALLACE: All right, Chad, we'll talk to you then.

And those are the headlines.

You can say it was not a pretty sight in Modesto, California. We'll tell you what happened when members of Scott Peterson's family and members of his murdered wife's family began taking belongings from Peterson's house.

And in Wichita, on Wednesday evening he was delivering spaghetti sauce and salad to the church. Two nights later, he was a serial killer suspect. Reaction to the BTK arrest from church members straight ahead.

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ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Free newspapers have been around for decades and decades, but this business seems to be exploding right now. Of course, these papers are free to consumers. They're not free to advertisers, and that's how it works. The papers are given away.

So why are free newspapers working right now? Well, readership of traditional newspapers has been fading for a while. Younger people are reading less. They're watching TV more. They're going online more. And free papers tend to be shorter, they tend to be snappier, they're punchier.

The jury is still out as far as how successful free newspapers are in terms of the business model. They seem to be doing OK in Europe. They're not making a lot of money here in the United States. It's a little rough around the edges. But it seems to be gaining momentum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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WALLACE: His church, his family and his community react to the arrest of the suspected BTK serial killer.

Plus, an Arab-American accused in a plot to assassinate the president. Will this young man face a fair justice system?

DAYBREAK has all the answers. We'll be back in just a minute.

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WALLACE: His family says he is innocent, but U.S. officials say he supported terrorists in an alleged plot to assassinate President Bush. Omar Abu Ali is the subject of a "Time" magazine report. The U.S. citizen was jailed for 20 months in Saudi Arabia. Now, he is back in the United States and facing terrorism related charges.

But just how strong is the case against him?

This is our "Just In Time" segment.

Joining us from Washington, "Time" magazine correspondent Viveca Novak.

Viveca, thanks for being here.

VIVECA NOVAK, "TIME" MAGAZINE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kelly.

WALLACE: Looking at your report, you talk about you have a source in the Middle East who has knowledge of the case, saying, "Prosecutors have an uphill battle."

So just how strong is this case against Abu Ali?

NOVAK: Well, even in Saudi Arabia they couldn't build a case against him, and their justice system is a little different from ours. It's probably a little easier there. But they held onto him since early 2003, finally turned him over to the United States, which, it might be said, didn't really want him because they weren't sure that they could bring a case either.

It's really all only come to this because Abu Ali's family filed a civil suit asking him to be returned to the United States and it kind of forced the U.S.' hand.

WALLACE: What kind of evidence are your sources telling you that they have? I understand just in terms of searching his home, they did uncover some materials that could be evidence in the case.

NOVAK: Well, it could be, although, again, it's not much. I think the strongest piece of evidence they have is probably a -- something written by Osama bin Laden's number two, Zawahiri. But, again, it's something in his home. It's not, you know, a list of phone numbers of al Qaeda members or anything like that. And other than that, the witnesses are either people in Saudi jails, they're dead or they're members of the Saudi security service, which, you know, and those people aren't going to be coming here to testify, I don't think.

So it's very much, I think, an uphill battle for the prosecutors.

WALLACE: You also describe in the article almost a sort of a hot potato, really, between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia while he was detained. Each side, you're describing, waiting for the other to charge him with a crime.

NOVAK: That's right. And as I said, it probably -- he'd probably still be sitting in a Saudi jail if his family hadn't filed a civil lawsuit. And he claims he was tortured over there. He's certainly been there quite a long time. The U.S. government says that when a doctor examined him when he was coming to the U.S., they saw no evidence of torture. But even the judge in the civil suit, Judge John Bates, has said that there is circumstantial evidence of some torture. And, as we all know, there is a lot of torture that leaves no marks, as well.

WALLACE: All right, we'll be watching that case.

Viveca Novak with "Just In Time."

Thanks for being here this morning.

We appreciate it.

NOVAK: Good to be with you.

WALLACE: Still to come here on DAYBREAK, with Pope John Paul ailing for the second time in a month, speculation about the future of the papacy is inevitable. We will explore John Paul's legacy with the Catholic Church.

Also, as the BTK killer suspect awaits charges in Wichita, Bob Franken reports live on reaction in the community.

We'll be right back.

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