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American Morning
Protests on Streets of Beirut; Brian Nichols Back in Court Today; EMS in Critical Condition?
Aired March 14, 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASHLEY SMITH, HELD HOSTAGE BY BRIAN NICHOLS: My husband died four years ago. And I told him that he hurt me my little girl wouldn't have a mommy or daddy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A woman taken hostage outside Atlanta tells the incredible story of just how she got through to the man suspected in a killing rampage.
And a developing story at this hour. Hundreds of thousands of people on the streets of Beirut defying Syria. Another huge turnout on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. No Bill Hemmer this morning. He's on a little vaca. But Mr. Cafferty is helping us out.
Good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. In a few moments, that situation in Atlanta, Georgia.
This woman, Ashley Smith, who is absolutely my hero, she did what you could hardly imagine anyone doing, she was taken hostage by a guy suspected of four murders. She kept her cool, she talked to this guy. Eventually she handed this man over to law enforcement on a plate. Her story's coming up.
O'BRIEN: Also ahead this morning, this is a key day of testimony in the Michael Jackson trial. The boy who is accusing Jackson of molestation is facing tough cross-examination from the singer's lawyers. We're going to talk about that.
Also, Mr. Toobin here talking about another legal issue.
Good morning.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Indeed. Good morning.
We're talking also about these Atlanta courthouse murders and Brian Nichols. The "Question of the Day" is, do the Atlanta courthouse shootings change your opinion about the death penalty? E- mail us at AM@CNN.com.
O'BRIEN: Interesting responses. Thanks, Jeff.
TOOBIN: You're welcome.
CAFFERTY: All right. Hundreds of thousands of anti-Syrian protesters are now in the streets of Beirut, Lebanon. This rally could be larger than last week's pro-Syrian demonstration.
Anderson Cooper is in Beirut now. And he's going to give us a sense of just how large these demonstrations are.
These pictures are breathtaking in terms of crowds, Anderson. What's going on?
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jack, it's really unbelievable. You know, when you see it from America, you kind of think, OK, it's a big demonstration. But you've got to remember, this is Beirut, Lebanon. This is a country that has been racked by civil war, more than a decade of violence.
This is a country that Syria occupies, where no one would even vocally say we want Syria out several months ago. Now they are shouting it in the streets. Well over 500,000 people here. We don't have an exact number, but it's twice the size of the pro-Syrian demonstration that took place here just last week.
And the crowd, I mean, as far as your eye can see in downtown Beirut, in Martyrs Square, every inch is covered with people, handmade signs. There's a real sense that change is coming and the Lebanese people wanted to be a part of it.
The organizers had hoped to get about a million people here. And it's very possible they are going to get that number. And if they do, that is a quarter of the population of Lebanon, if you think about it. Four million people here.
It is a remarkable turnout, a historic turnout in a country which has seen so many historic days in last month. This is the top of the heap. It is a remarkable day -- Jack.
CAFFERTY: What have you got coming up tonight on your program? I assume you'll be originating from Beirut. What's in store?
COOPER: Yes, we've been -- we've actually been hanging out with a young man in his early 20s who's one of the protester organizers. He's been here literally camping out in the square for the last 25 day. He's sleeping here, he's eating here, he is not leaving. And there are several hundred young Lebanese people doing this.
We're going to follow him around a little bit. We met up with him again today during the demonstrations.
It's such an emotional story here. It is such an emotional day for so many Lebanese. And everywhere you go, you see this sign. They say "The Truth."
They want the truth about who killed their former prime minister. They want the truth about how he was killed. They don't even know, was it a suicide bomb, was it a car bomb. No one has told them yet. There hasn't been an investigation.
And they want the truth about the corruption that has been filtering money out of this country for so many years. They want answers. And today they turned out in huge numbers to demand it -- Jack.
CAFFERTY: The times, they are a changing. "ANDERSON COOPER 360" coming up tonight at 7:00 on CNN. Thanks, Anderson.
Carol Costello now with a look at the other headlines making news -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I have them. Thank you, Jack. Good morning, everyone.
"Now in the News," a clash between U.S. troops and insurgents in northern Iraq. Military sources say the fighting started when militants attacked a U.S. chopper in Mosul. At least two Iraqi civilians were killed caught in the crossfire. This attack comes as a House committee is meeting in Washington this morning working on plans to create a new Iraqi security force.
Good news about Pope John Paul. He is recuperating at home this morning. The pope blessed the crowds as he left the hospital after a tracheotomy 2.5 weeks ago. The Vatican was expected to issue a health update this morning, but it decided against it, saying the acute phase of the pope's latest health crisis was over.
Texas police say a 4-year-old boy may not have known the difference between a toy gun and a real gun when he shot his 2-year- old brother. The toddler is in critical condition this morning.
Police say the boys were argue Saturday when the 2-year-old threw a toy at his brother. The older boy then got a loaded gun from his mother's purse and shot him in the temple. The mother could face criminal charges because of this.
And deliberations continue in Robert Blake's murder trial today. Jurors have been discussing the case since March 4. Blake is accused of killing his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. She was shot in his car near a restaurant where they had eaten dinner. Blake denies all the charges, but the jury's been deliberating a long time. Maybe it will be a hung jury, we don't know.
O'BRIEN: Could be. Certainly going on a long time. All right. Carol, thank you.
Thirty-three-year-old Brian Nichols, the suspect in the Atlanta courthouse shootings, could be back in court as early as today. Also this morning, the harrowing story of the 26-year-old woman Nichols is accused as taking as a hostage. CNN's Gary Tuchman has been following the story all weekend. He joins us from the federal penitentiary in Atlanta where Nichols is being held now.
Gary, good morning.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, good morning to you.
Brian Nichols has just spent his second night here in the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. He still hasn't been formally charged with murder. But that will happen.
Authorities say they're still conducting their investigation. Within 30 days he will have four charges of murder against him.
Now, Fulton County officials have told CNN that there is a videotape that exists of Nichols assaulting that first sheriff's deputy in the courthouse. They are not telling us if they were actually witnessing it live when it happened. They are telling us it will be used as evidence.
The capture of Nichols did not come because of extraordinary police work. It came because of an extraordinary woman, a woman who we got a chance to talk with last night. And what she told us was spellbinding.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN (voice-over): At 2:00 in the morning, 17 hours after Brian Nichols' rampage and escape, this woman was walking into her home when somebody pushed her from behind.
SMITH: I started to scream. And he put a gun to my side and said, "Don't scream. If you don't scream, I won't hurt you."
TUCHMAN: Ashley Smith was forced into her bathroom.
SMITH: He took his hat off and he said, "Now do you know who I am?" And I said, "Yeah, I know who you are. Please don't hurt me. Just please don't hurt me. I have a 5-year-old little girl."
TUCHMAN: The 26-year-old realized the man she had seen on the news all day who had terrorized an entire region could kill her at any time. She says Nichols tied her up with an extension cord and masking tape.
SMITH: I told him that I was supposed to see my little girl the next morning at 10:00. And I asked him if I could go see her. And he told me, "No."
My husband died four years ago. And I told him that if he hurt me, my little girl wouldn't have a mommy or a daddy and she was expecting to see me the next morning.
TUCHMAN: It was a turning point. Ashley Smith was untied. And later...
SMITH: He put the guns under the bed like, you know, I'm done, I'm not going mess around with you anymore.
TUCHMAN: She says Nichols announced he had to ditch his getaway vehicle. So she followed him in her car with a cell phone. But she didn't call police, fearing a bloodbath or his escape. She went back home with Nichols and made him breakfast.
SMITH: He was overwhelmed with, "Wow." He said, "Real butter? Pancakes?"
TUCHMAN: She asked him, "Why did you come to my house?"
SMITH: He said he thought that I was angel sent from god and that I was his sister and he was my brother in Christ. And that he was lost and god led him right to me.
TUCHMAN: After hours of talking, alleged quadruple murderer Brian Nichols told Ashley Smith it was OK to go see her child.
SMITH: And I had left my house at 9:30 and I got in the car and I immediately called 911 and told them that he was there. And she asked me where I was. I said, "I'm on my way to see my daughter."
TUCHMAN: The S.W.A.T. team showed up. Brian Nichols waved a white shirt, and he was arrested. Ashley Smith says it was god's destiny.
SMITH: The reason I met Brian Nichols was so that I could talk him out of hurting anybody else and get him to turn himself in.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: It's really an incredible story. Ashley Smith went from being tied up at gunpoint to cooking him pancakes.
Now, there is a $60,000 reward in this case. One would assume that Ashley Smith is a shoo-in to get that money. But it still hasn't been officially determined.
I asked Ashley Smith last night, "Would you like that reward?" And she says, "Yes, if they give it to me. But the most important thing is that I helped end this without any further bloodshed" -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Gary Tuchman for us. Gary, she's a pretty remarkable woman. It's just fascinating really to hear what she went through. Thank you for that report.
Two year ago, criminal defense attorney Dennis Scheib wrote a letter to the Justice Department officials expressing his concern about the lack of security in the Fulton County Courthouse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) O'BRIEN: Mr. Scheib, good morning to you. You are concerned about security well before Friday's shootings. What specifically did you have problems with?
DENNIS SCHEIB, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, deputies too many times escorting prisoners and getting too close to them when they had weapons. One particular deputy one time went into an area where there were other inmates. And she walked in -- actually, it was an in-closed area. And she walked actually into it amongst them.
And I actually grabbed her and pulled her out by her gun belt and just told her -- indicated to her she shouldn't be doing that. I mean, if she needed to get an inmate, she could go ahead and either call the inmate or have another deputy go in there.
But too many times the way the situation is set up over there, there's too few deputies to deal with the prisoners. Or it's either one or one and they have a gun on them, as we see what happened Friday. I mean, one on one with a gun is a tragedy.
O'BRIEN: So then you're blaming manpower or are you blaming a lackadaisical approach to how the deputies, to a large degree, are trained and how the orders go?
SCHEIB: Well, several different things. It's manpower, it's how they go ahead and deal with what they have. It's a whole scenario of things.
I mean, they need I think the training. I've talked to deputies and they indicated that they just don't have the training they need.
They need updated training. They need deputies that physically can go ahead and deal with what they need to.
This deputy, I know her very well. She's very, very nice. But to go ahead, and as small as she was, as small as she is, to deal with a man that is six foot, muscular and strong, one on one, it was a dangerous scenario.
O'BRIEN: When you laid out these complaints in your letter, what was the reaction?
SCHEIB: I didn't get a reaction from anybody. I actually sent it in March 19, 2003, almost two years ago to the day. And I didn't get a reaction.
I've talked to a few different judges, and they indicate, you know, security was a problem and they needed to do some things. But they just kind of put it on the back burner and just never really I don't think worried about it.
O'BRIEN: At the end of the day, then, do you think that these deaths were all preventable?
SCHEIB: Yes, absolutely they were preventable. I had even talked to Judge Barnes one time about security. And, you know, he indicated, you know, he would watch it. And he was very mindful of it because there was a situation in his courtroom at one point in time about a year and a half ago.
O'BRIEN: In his courtroom, in fact, this prisoner, Mr. Nichols, was caught with contraband, as you well know, metal shanks in each of his feet. The next day, though he's heading to the courtroom without shackles. Is that standard operating procedure?
SCHEIB: Well, security should have been beefed up. I mean, they knew he was a potential problem when they found the shanks or metal strips in his shoes. And I don't know if it was reported to the sheriff's department by the deputy or by the district attorney's office or by the judge.
I mean, it should have been, and some security measures should have been taken. They could have shackled him, they could have done any number of things where this couldn't have happened. But there was a breakdown somewhere.
O'BRIEN: Dennis Scheib, defense attorney, joining us this morning. Mr. Scheib, thank you for your time. Appreciate it.
SCHEIB: Yes, ma'am.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: And there's much more ahead all day on CNN. And tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time, a special "NEWSNIGHT," "26 Hours Inside the Atlanta Manhunt." That's tonight, 10:00 p.m., on CNN -- Jack.
CAFFERTY: Time to get a check of the weather now. Chad Myers at the CNN Center with the forecast.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CAFFERTY: Three-and-a-half years after 9/11, are America's medical first responders ready for another attack? A new report says the answer is scary. We'll take a closer look.
O'BRIEN: And Michael Jackson's accuser back on the stand today. We're going to take a look at the fine line that the defense -- easy for me to say -- has to walk during cross-examination. That's ahead as we continue right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAFFERTY: A postal facility in Hamilton, New Jersey, is reopening to the public today for the first time since the anthrax scare more than three years ago. The media got a glimpse of the decontaminated facility on Sunday. All of the old machines have been replaced. The building's now equipped with anthrax-detecting sensors.
The anonymous attacks killed five people, made 17 others sick, including four employees at the Hamilton Post Office. Meantime, the nation's emergency first responders are reportedly facing a crisis of their own. A new study says emergency medical service personnel lack the proper equipment and training to deal with a terrorist attack. It's the subject of our CNN "Security Watch" this morning.
Tim Raducha-Grace is with the New York University Center for Catastrophe Preparedness and Response, and they issued this rather troubling report. He joins us now.
Good morning.
TIM RADUCHA-GRACE, NYU CENTER FOR CATASTROPHE PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE: Good morning.
CAFFERTY: Three and a half, almost four years after the fact, how do the EMS people get overlooked in all of this disaster preparedness? In the event of either a chemical or biological attack, one would assume they would be right on the front lines.
RADUCHA-GRACE: Yes. Well, let me first say that our emergency medical service personnel are incredibly courageous and dedicated professionals.
CAFFERTY: Yes, there's no doubt.
RADUCHA-GRACE: But the fact is that the support they are receiving is simply inadequate. A recent audit by the Department of Homeland Security says that they're only receiving 4 percent of first responder funding despite the fact that they are roughly one-third of our first responders.
CAFFERTY: Why? Why are they not getting their fair share?
RADUCHA-GRACE: Well, I think there's two core issues. The first is their diversity.
There's both -- there's emergency medical services provided through fire departments, through hospitals, and they're not as organized as both the law enforcement community and the fire service. And the second is an issue of coordination. Because they interface both with the public health system and with our first responders, our federal government needs to do a better job of coordinating support for EMS providers.
CAFFERTY: Is anything being done to address this?
RADUCHA-GRACE: Yes. In fact, when we issued our report on Friday, Senator Susan Collins, who's the chairwoman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, introduced legislation to take the first step to support our EMS providers and do the very coordination that frankly our federal government should have been doing before 9/11.
CAFFERTY: I was going to say, didn't we -- didn't we go to great lengths to consolidate all of these services and create this Department of Homeland Security? I mean, we spent a lot of time talking about duct tape and clear plastic sheeting. But it doesn't sound like we're spending a whole lot of time worrying about what the EMS people bring to the table in the event, as I mentioned, of either a biological or a chemical attack, which could be just devastating.
RADUCHA-GRACE: Yes. And some of the findings that our report showed are pretty concerning.
You know, more than half of EMS personnel have less than one hour of bioterrorism training. That's simply not enough. But this legislation is an excellent first step. You know, if we're going to be spending all of these resources we need to make sure that they're coordinated.
CAFFERTY: And how would that coordination happen according to this legislation?
RADUCHA-GRACE: Well, first of all, all of the federal agencies, they actually are forced to talk to each other. It seems kind of...
CAFFERTY: They tend not to like to do that.
RADUCHA-GRACE: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
RADUCHA-GRACE: Yes. But this legislation would do that. Another important part of the legislation is it would allow our EMS personnel to have input into these federal programs, to make sure that they don't slip between the cracks.
CAFFERTY: And is there reason to believe that this legislation's going to get passed?
RADUCHA-GRACE: I think so. The president actually recommended this legislation last year. And so hopefully Congress and the administration can get together and get this specific bill passed.
CAFFERTY: Tim Raducha-Grace, who's the director of research and programs at the Center for Catastrophe Preparedness and Response at NYU. Thanks for coming in. Appreciate it.
RADUCHA-GRACE: Thank you. Appreciate it.
CAFFERTY: Good luck. I hope we can get something done.
Be sure to stay tuned to CNN day and night for your most reliable news about your security -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: A 26-year-old single mom shares the chilling details of her night alone with a suspected killer. What did Ashley Smith do to gain Brian Nichols' trust? Her story's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back. And let's get right back to Jeff who's got the "Question of the Day."
Good morning.
TOOBIN: We've been talking about Brian Nichols. Good morning. We are talking about the death penalty.
He is facing -- he could face the death penalty in the death of those four people over the weekend, including a judge, two law enforcement officers and a court reporter. Our "Question of the Day" is, do the Atlanta courthouse shooting change your opinion about the death penalty? And let's listen to some of what our viewers have to say.
Steve in Palmetto, Florida, writes: "No, my opinion is unchanged. In cases such as the Atlanta murders, there is no other justifiable sentence. I can only hope that they impanel a more intelligent jury than was impaneled in the O.J. trial."
Ah, memories.
Karen from Michigan writes: "No, Nichols should not be executed. Two wrongs don't make a right. Here in the upper peninsula of Michigan we have no death penalty and there are three huge maximum security prisons within 120-mile radius. Without prison jobs our community would crumble. Believe it or not, these morons provide something to society, good corrections jobs."
I don't think that's a principled response exactly.
Bob from Minneapolis writes: "What a bizarre and intellectually puzzling question."
Well, I'm glad you gave it a lot of thought.
"As a person who is opposed to the death penalty on the ground it is barbaric, morally reprehensible and irreversible, I simply do not understand how any event could change an opponent's position."
Finally, Wes in Cape Charles, Virginia, writes: "No, it even further supports my view we need to fix the judicial system. In Virginia, no matter what the offense, everyone is taken to court in shackles. From bad laws to bad policies to treating everyone equally, this is not the environment we should have, but the system our lawyers have created."
I think there's going to be a lot of...
O'BRIEN: How's it coming down? What do you think?
TOOBIN: You know, it seems to me about to -- it reflects about the views of the death penalty nationally, which is sort of slightly favoring it, but not overwhelmingly.
O'BRIEN: And not influenced necessarily by the event itself.
TOOBIN: No, not overwhelmingly influenced by the events. O'BRIEN: All right. Interesting. All right, Jeff. Thanks.
There's much more AMERICAN MORNING right after this short break.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Ahead on "90-Second Pop," Jay Leno wins in court. He can tell all of the Michael Jackson jokes he wants. But maybe he was better off losing. We'll explain.
Plus, "American Idol" gets rocked by controversy. Somebody's going home early and not because he was voted off. That's later on AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired March 14, 2005 - 08:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASHLEY SMITH, HELD HOSTAGE BY BRIAN NICHOLS: My husband died four years ago. And I told him that he hurt me my little girl wouldn't have a mommy or daddy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A woman taken hostage outside Atlanta tells the incredible story of just how she got through to the man suspected in a killing rampage.
And a developing story at this hour. Hundreds of thousands of people on the streets of Beirut defying Syria. Another huge turnout on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. No Bill Hemmer this morning. He's on a little vaca. But Mr. Cafferty is helping us out.
Good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. In a few moments, that situation in Atlanta, Georgia.
This woman, Ashley Smith, who is absolutely my hero, she did what you could hardly imagine anyone doing, she was taken hostage by a guy suspected of four murders. She kept her cool, she talked to this guy. Eventually she handed this man over to law enforcement on a plate. Her story's coming up.
O'BRIEN: Also ahead this morning, this is a key day of testimony in the Michael Jackson trial. The boy who is accusing Jackson of molestation is facing tough cross-examination from the singer's lawyers. We're going to talk about that.
Also, Mr. Toobin here talking about another legal issue.
Good morning.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Indeed. Good morning.
We're talking also about these Atlanta courthouse murders and Brian Nichols. The "Question of the Day" is, do the Atlanta courthouse shootings change your opinion about the death penalty? E- mail us at AM@CNN.com.
O'BRIEN: Interesting responses. Thanks, Jeff.
TOOBIN: You're welcome.
CAFFERTY: All right. Hundreds of thousands of anti-Syrian protesters are now in the streets of Beirut, Lebanon. This rally could be larger than last week's pro-Syrian demonstration.
Anderson Cooper is in Beirut now. And he's going to give us a sense of just how large these demonstrations are.
These pictures are breathtaking in terms of crowds, Anderson. What's going on?
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jack, it's really unbelievable. You know, when you see it from America, you kind of think, OK, it's a big demonstration. But you've got to remember, this is Beirut, Lebanon. This is a country that has been racked by civil war, more than a decade of violence.
This is a country that Syria occupies, where no one would even vocally say we want Syria out several months ago. Now they are shouting it in the streets. Well over 500,000 people here. We don't have an exact number, but it's twice the size of the pro-Syrian demonstration that took place here just last week.
And the crowd, I mean, as far as your eye can see in downtown Beirut, in Martyrs Square, every inch is covered with people, handmade signs. There's a real sense that change is coming and the Lebanese people wanted to be a part of it.
The organizers had hoped to get about a million people here. And it's very possible they are going to get that number. And if they do, that is a quarter of the population of Lebanon, if you think about it. Four million people here.
It is a remarkable turnout, a historic turnout in a country which has seen so many historic days in last month. This is the top of the heap. It is a remarkable day -- Jack.
CAFFERTY: What have you got coming up tonight on your program? I assume you'll be originating from Beirut. What's in store?
COOPER: Yes, we've been -- we've actually been hanging out with a young man in his early 20s who's one of the protester organizers. He's been here literally camping out in the square for the last 25 day. He's sleeping here, he's eating here, he is not leaving. And there are several hundred young Lebanese people doing this.
We're going to follow him around a little bit. We met up with him again today during the demonstrations.
It's such an emotional story here. It is such an emotional day for so many Lebanese. And everywhere you go, you see this sign. They say "The Truth."
They want the truth about who killed their former prime minister. They want the truth about how he was killed. They don't even know, was it a suicide bomb, was it a car bomb. No one has told them yet. There hasn't been an investigation.
And they want the truth about the corruption that has been filtering money out of this country for so many years. They want answers. And today they turned out in huge numbers to demand it -- Jack.
CAFFERTY: The times, they are a changing. "ANDERSON COOPER 360" coming up tonight at 7:00 on CNN. Thanks, Anderson.
Carol Costello now with a look at the other headlines making news -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I have them. Thank you, Jack. Good morning, everyone.
"Now in the News," a clash between U.S. troops and insurgents in northern Iraq. Military sources say the fighting started when militants attacked a U.S. chopper in Mosul. At least two Iraqi civilians were killed caught in the crossfire. This attack comes as a House committee is meeting in Washington this morning working on plans to create a new Iraqi security force.
Good news about Pope John Paul. He is recuperating at home this morning. The pope blessed the crowds as he left the hospital after a tracheotomy 2.5 weeks ago. The Vatican was expected to issue a health update this morning, but it decided against it, saying the acute phase of the pope's latest health crisis was over.
Texas police say a 4-year-old boy may not have known the difference between a toy gun and a real gun when he shot his 2-year- old brother. The toddler is in critical condition this morning.
Police say the boys were argue Saturday when the 2-year-old threw a toy at his brother. The older boy then got a loaded gun from his mother's purse and shot him in the temple. The mother could face criminal charges because of this.
And deliberations continue in Robert Blake's murder trial today. Jurors have been discussing the case since March 4. Blake is accused of killing his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. She was shot in his car near a restaurant where they had eaten dinner. Blake denies all the charges, but the jury's been deliberating a long time. Maybe it will be a hung jury, we don't know.
O'BRIEN: Could be. Certainly going on a long time. All right. Carol, thank you.
Thirty-three-year-old Brian Nichols, the suspect in the Atlanta courthouse shootings, could be back in court as early as today. Also this morning, the harrowing story of the 26-year-old woman Nichols is accused as taking as a hostage. CNN's Gary Tuchman has been following the story all weekend. He joins us from the federal penitentiary in Atlanta where Nichols is being held now.
Gary, good morning.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, good morning to you.
Brian Nichols has just spent his second night here in the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. He still hasn't been formally charged with murder. But that will happen.
Authorities say they're still conducting their investigation. Within 30 days he will have four charges of murder against him.
Now, Fulton County officials have told CNN that there is a videotape that exists of Nichols assaulting that first sheriff's deputy in the courthouse. They are not telling us if they were actually witnessing it live when it happened. They are telling us it will be used as evidence.
The capture of Nichols did not come because of extraordinary police work. It came because of an extraordinary woman, a woman who we got a chance to talk with last night. And what she told us was spellbinding.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN (voice-over): At 2:00 in the morning, 17 hours after Brian Nichols' rampage and escape, this woman was walking into her home when somebody pushed her from behind.
SMITH: I started to scream. And he put a gun to my side and said, "Don't scream. If you don't scream, I won't hurt you."
TUCHMAN: Ashley Smith was forced into her bathroom.
SMITH: He took his hat off and he said, "Now do you know who I am?" And I said, "Yeah, I know who you are. Please don't hurt me. Just please don't hurt me. I have a 5-year-old little girl."
TUCHMAN: The 26-year-old realized the man she had seen on the news all day who had terrorized an entire region could kill her at any time. She says Nichols tied her up with an extension cord and masking tape.
SMITH: I told him that I was supposed to see my little girl the next morning at 10:00. And I asked him if I could go see her. And he told me, "No."
My husband died four years ago. And I told him that if he hurt me, my little girl wouldn't have a mommy or a daddy and she was expecting to see me the next morning.
TUCHMAN: It was a turning point. Ashley Smith was untied. And later...
SMITH: He put the guns under the bed like, you know, I'm done, I'm not going mess around with you anymore.
TUCHMAN: She says Nichols announced he had to ditch his getaway vehicle. So she followed him in her car with a cell phone. But she didn't call police, fearing a bloodbath or his escape. She went back home with Nichols and made him breakfast.
SMITH: He was overwhelmed with, "Wow." He said, "Real butter? Pancakes?"
TUCHMAN: She asked him, "Why did you come to my house?"
SMITH: He said he thought that I was angel sent from god and that I was his sister and he was my brother in Christ. And that he was lost and god led him right to me.
TUCHMAN: After hours of talking, alleged quadruple murderer Brian Nichols told Ashley Smith it was OK to go see her child.
SMITH: And I had left my house at 9:30 and I got in the car and I immediately called 911 and told them that he was there. And she asked me where I was. I said, "I'm on my way to see my daughter."
TUCHMAN: The S.W.A.T. team showed up. Brian Nichols waved a white shirt, and he was arrested. Ashley Smith says it was god's destiny.
SMITH: The reason I met Brian Nichols was so that I could talk him out of hurting anybody else and get him to turn himself in.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: It's really an incredible story. Ashley Smith went from being tied up at gunpoint to cooking him pancakes.
Now, there is a $60,000 reward in this case. One would assume that Ashley Smith is a shoo-in to get that money. But it still hasn't been officially determined.
I asked Ashley Smith last night, "Would you like that reward?" And she says, "Yes, if they give it to me. But the most important thing is that I helped end this without any further bloodshed" -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Gary Tuchman for us. Gary, she's a pretty remarkable woman. It's just fascinating really to hear what she went through. Thank you for that report.
Two year ago, criminal defense attorney Dennis Scheib wrote a letter to the Justice Department officials expressing his concern about the lack of security in the Fulton County Courthouse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) O'BRIEN: Mr. Scheib, good morning to you. You are concerned about security well before Friday's shootings. What specifically did you have problems with?
DENNIS SCHEIB, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, deputies too many times escorting prisoners and getting too close to them when they had weapons. One particular deputy one time went into an area where there were other inmates. And she walked in -- actually, it was an in-closed area. And she walked actually into it amongst them.
And I actually grabbed her and pulled her out by her gun belt and just told her -- indicated to her she shouldn't be doing that. I mean, if she needed to get an inmate, she could go ahead and either call the inmate or have another deputy go in there.
But too many times the way the situation is set up over there, there's too few deputies to deal with the prisoners. Or it's either one or one and they have a gun on them, as we see what happened Friday. I mean, one on one with a gun is a tragedy.
O'BRIEN: So then you're blaming manpower or are you blaming a lackadaisical approach to how the deputies, to a large degree, are trained and how the orders go?
SCHEIB: Well, several different things. It's manpower, it's how they go ahead and deal with what they have. It's a whole scenario of things.
I mean, they need I think the training. I've talked to deputies and they indicated that they just don't have the training they need.
They need updated training. They need deputies that physically can go ahead and deal with what they need to.
This deputy, I know her very well. She's very, very nice. But to go ahead, and as small as she was, as small as she is, to deal with a man that is six foot, muscular and strong, one on one, it was a dangerous scenario.
O'BRIEN: When you laid out these complaints in your letter, what was the reaction?
SCHEIB: I didn't get a reaction from anybody. I actually sent it in March 19, 2003, almost two years ago to the day. And I didn't get a reaction.
I've talked to a few different judges, and they indicate, you know, security was a problem and they needed to do some things. But they just kind of put it on the back burner and just never really I don't think worried about it.
O'BRIEN: At the end of the day, then, do you think that these deaths were all preventable?
SCHEIB: Yes, absolutely they were preventable. I had even talked to Judge Barnes one time about security. And, you know, he indicated, you know, he would watch it. And he was very mindful of it because there was a situation in his courtroom at one point in time about a year and a half ago.
O'BRIEN: In his courtroom, in fact, this prisoner, Mr. Nichols, was caught with contraband, as you well know, metal shanks in each of his feet. The next day, though he's heading to the courtroom without shackles. Is that standard operating procedure?
SCHEIB: Well, security should have been beefed up. I mean, they knew he was a potential problem when they found the shanks or metal strips in his shoes. And I don't know if it was reported to the sheriff's department by the deputy or by the district attorney's office or by the judge.
I mean, it should have been, and some security measures should have been taken. They could have shackled him, they could have done any number of things where this couldn't have happened. But there was a breakdown somewhere.
O'BRIEN: Dennis Scheib, defense attorney, joining us this morning. Mr. Scheib, thank you for your time. Appreciate it.
SCHEIB: Yes, ma'am.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: And there's much more ahead all day on CNN. And tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time, a special "NEWSNIGHT," "26 Hours Inside the Atlanta Manhunt." That's tonight, 10:00 p.m., on CNN -- Jack.
CAFFERTY: Time to get a check of the weather now. Chad Myers at the CNN Center with the forecast.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CAFFERTY: Three-and-a-half years after 9/11, are America's medical first responders ready for another attack? A new report says the answer is scary. We'll take a closer look.
O'BRIEN: And Michael Jackson's accuser back on the stand today. We're going to take a look at the fine line that the defense -- easy for me to say -- has to walk during cross-examination. That's ahead as we continue right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CAFFERTY: A postal facility in Hamilton, New Jersey, is reopening to the public today for the first time since the anthrax scare more than three years ago. The media got a glimpse of the decontaminated facility on Sunday. All of the old machines have been replaced. The building's now equipped with anthrax-detecting sensors.
The anonymous attacks killed five people, made 17 others sick, including four employees at the Hamilton Post Office. Meantime, the nation's emergency first responders are reportedly facing a crisis of their own. A new study says emergency medical service personnel lack the proper equipment and training to deal with a terrorist attack. It's the subject of our CNN "Security Watch" this morning.
Tim Raducha-Grace is with the New York University Center for Catastrophe Preparedness and Response, and they issued this rather troubling report. He joins us now.
Good morning.
TIM RADUCHA-GRACE, NYU CENTER FOR CATASTROPHE PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE: Good morning.
CAFFERTY: Three and a half, almost four years after the fact, how do the EMS people get overlooked in all of this disaster preparedness? In the event of either a chemical or biological attack, one would assume they would be right on the front lines.
RADUCHA-GRACE: Yes. Well, let me first say that our emergency medical service personnel are incredibly courageous and dedicated professionals.
CAFFERTY: Yes, there's no doubt.
RADUCHA-GRACE: But the fact is that the support they are receiving is simply inadequate. A recent audit by the Department of Homeland Security says that they're only receiving 4 percent of first responder funding despite the fact that they are roughly one-third of our first responders.
CAFFERTY: Why? Why are they not getting their fair share?
RADUCHA-GRACE: Well, I think there's two core issues. The first is their diversity.
There's both -- there's emergency medical services provided through fire departments, through hospitals, and they're not as organized as both the law enforcement community and the fire service. And the second is an issue of coordination. Because they interface both with the public health system and with our first responders, our federal government needs to do a better job of coordinating support for EMS providers.
CAFFERTY: Is anything being done to address this?
RADUCHA-GRACE: Yes. In fact, when we issued our report on Friday, Senator Susan Collins, who's the chairwoman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, introduced legislation to take the first step to support our EMS providers and do the very coordination that frankly our federal government should have been doing before 9/11.
CAFFERTY: I was going to say, didn't we -- didn't we go to great lengths to consolidate all of these services and create this Department of Homeland Security? I mean, we spent a lot of time talking about duct tape and clear plastic sheeting. But it doesn't sound like we're spending a whole lot of time worrying about what the EMS people bring to the table in the event, as I mentioned, of either a biological or a chemical attack, which could be just devastating.
RADUCHA-GRACE: Yes. And some of the findings that our report showed are pretty concerning.
You know, more than half of EMS personnel have less than one hour of bioterrorism training. That's simply not enough. But this legislation is an excellent first step. You know, if we're going to be spending all of these resources we need to make sure that they're coordinated.
CAFFERTY: And how would that coordination happen according to this legislation?
RADUCHA-GRACE: Well, first of all, all of the federal agencies, they actually are forced to talk to each other. It seems kind of...
CAFFERTY: They tend not to like to do that.
RADUCHA-GRACE: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
RADUCHA-GRACE: Yes. But this legislation would do that. Another important part of the legislation is it would allow our EMS personnel to have input into these federal programs, to make sure that they don't slip between the cracks.
CAFFERTY: And is there reason to believe that this legislation's going to get passed?
RADUCHA-GRACE: I think so. The president actually recommended this legislation last year. And so hopefully Congress and the administration can get together and get this specific bill passed.
CAFFERTY: Tim Raducha-Grace, who's the director of research and programs at the Center for Catastrophe Preparedness and Response at NYU. Thanks for coming in. Appreciate it.
RADUCHA-GRACE: Thank you. Appreciate it.
CAFFERTY: Good luck. I hope we can get something done.
Be sure to stay tuned to CNN day and night for your most reliable news about your security -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: A 26-year-old single mom shares the chilling details of her night alone with a suspected killer. What did Ashley Smith do to gain Brian Nichols' trust? Her story's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back. And let's get right back to Jeff who's got the "Question of the Day."
Good morning.
TOOBIN: We've been talking about Brian Nichols. Good morning. We are talking about the death penalty.
He is facing -- he could face the death penalty in the death of those four people over the weekend, including a judge, two law enforcement officers and a court reporter. Our "Question of the Day" is, do the Atlanta courthouse shooting change your opinion about the death penalty? And let's listen to some of what our viewers have to say.
Steve in Palmetto, Florida, writes: "No, my opinion is unchanged. In cases such as the Atlanta murders, there is no other justifiable sentence. I can only hope that they impanel a more intelligent jury than was impaneled in the O.J. trial."
Ah, memories.
Karen from Michigan writes: "No, Nichols should not be executed. Two wrongs don't make a right. Here in the upper peninsula of Michigan we have no death penalty and there are three huge maximum security prisons within 120-mile radius. Without prison jobs our community would crumble. Believe it or not, these morons provide something to society, good corrections jobs."
I don't think that's a principled response exactly.
Bob from Minneapolis writes: "What a bizarre and intellectually puzzling question."
Well, I'm glad you gave it a lot of thought.
"As a person who is opposed to the death penalty on the ground it is barbaric, morally reprehensible and irreversible, I simply do not understand how any event could change an opponent's position."
Finally, Wes in Cape Charles, Virginia, writes: "No, it even further supports my view we need to fix the judicial system. In Virginia, no matter what the offense, everyone is taken to court in shackles. From bad laws to bad policies to treating everyone equally, this is not the environment we should have, but the system our lawyers have created."
I think there's going to be a lot of...
O'BRIEN: How's it coming down? What do you think?
TOOBIN: You know, it seems to me about to -- it reflects about the views of the death penalty nationally, which is sort of slightly favoring it, but not overwhelmingly.
O'BRIEN: And not influenced necessarily by the event itself.
TOOBIN: No, not overwhelmingly influenced by the events. O'BRIEN: All right. Interesting. All right, Jeff. Thanks.
There's much more AMERICAN MORNING right after this short break.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Ahead on "90-Second Pop," Jay Leno wins in court. He can tell all of the Michael Jackson jokes he wants. But maybe he was better off losing. We'll explain.
Plus, "American Idol" gets rocked by controversy. Somebody's going home early and not because he was voted off. That's later on AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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