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CNN Live At Daybreak
Attack in Iraq; Bodies of Georgia Toddlers Found; Media Gone Mad
Aired April 26, 2005 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A military hearing begins today to determine whether a U.S. Marine will be charged with murder in a combat shooting. Second Lieutenant Ilario Pantano is accused of killing two Iraqis last year during a search for a terrorist hideout. Defense attorneys say Pantano was just doing his job. Prosecutors say they'll present evidence to the contrary at the Camp Lejeune hearing.
The sentencing phase for Army Sergeant Hasan Akbar picks up again today at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Akbar was convicted last week of killing two of his fellow officers and wounding 14 others. It happened during a grenade and rifle attack two years ago in Kuwait. Akbar could get the death penalty or life in prison.
Pentagon officials say U.S. troops have been cleared in the shooting death of an Italian security agent in Baghdad last month and the wounding of a freed Italian journalist. The car came under fire at a U.S. checkpoint on the way to the Baghdad Airport. The journalist called the findings a -- quote -- "slap in the face."
Myth becomes reality for U.S. Marines at a base along the Syria- Iraq border. They came under heavy attack as insurgents launched a well-coordinated suicide assault.
CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In war, the outcome often hinges on the actions of a single person, like 21-year-old Lance Corporal Joshua Butler of Altoona, Pennsylvania.
MELISSA BENSON, LANCE CPL. BUTLER'S MOTHER: This is my son's room. You can tell he's proud to be a Marine.
MCINTYRE: According to his mother, Butler wanted since childhood to be a Marine, like his cousin, uncle and great-grandfather before him.
BENSON: The earliest recollection that I have is him putting on my brother's Marine Corps shirt and hat, and marching up and down the hall, and saying, "I'm going to be a Marine some day."
MCINTYRE: He begged his mother to sign his enlistment papers, which she did, only to be shocked when she later saw him at Camp Lejeune. BENSON: And when he'd come walking across the parking lot with that big gun, I was like, oh, my gosh, that's my baby carrying that gun.
MCINTYRE: It was Butler's big gun that thwarted a bold attack two weeks ago on a remote Marine outpost on the Iraq/Syria border. It began when a suicide bomber tried to ram a truck past the camp's defenses. Firing from his number two guard tower, Corporal Butler forced the truck to veer to the side. The resulting explosion knocked Butler down and filled the air with white smoke.
What came next, Butler told a "Washington Post" reporter, was like something out of a movie.
STEVE FAINARU, "WASHINGTON POST" REPORTER: You had the smoke that was left over from the first bomb and the debris. And it hadn't yet cleared. And then here came this fire truck, just literally out of the smoke, heading straight toward the base.
MCINTYRE: The Marines had been warned insurgents were planning to use a fire truck as a weapon, but were beginning to think it was a myth.
COL. ROBERT CHASE, U.S. MARINES OP. OFFICER: In that particular case, we had heard fire trucks were in the area and could possibly be used. So, when they saw it coming, it was not a surprise to them.
MCINTYRE: As it sped past a mural bidding travelers goodbye from free Iraq, the fire truck may not have been a surprise. But it was terrifying.
FAINARU: One of the Marines said that when he actually saw it coming up the road, it was like the grim reaper himself driving up this road heading for the base. And that his heart basically stopped.
MCINTYRE: Again, it was Butler's quick reaction and heavy machine gun fire that forced the fire truck to explode before it could get past the inner defenses. An inspection of the tangled wreckage revealed the fire truck was packed with propane tanks of explosives and outfitted with a bulletproof windshield to protect the two suicide attackers inside.
Marine commanders admit it was an audacious plan.
CHASE: I think the idea was that the first two vehicles would attempt to breach, the sheer weight and size and mass of the fire truck would then force its way through whatever breach was caused.
MCINTYRE: The attack had failed. But the battle continued for almost 24 hours. When the dust cleared, the Marines say some 19 insurgents were dead and the Marines had suffered no serious casualties.
Back home in Altoona, a Marine's mother is bursting with pride and worry. BENSON: I go from being so extremely proud that I can't stand it and wanting the whole world to know what he's done, and then go into a complete panic.
MCINTYRE: And as for her son's promised safe return? That chapter of his story will have to wait until October when he's scheduled to come home.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: President Bush is winding down his 60-day tour to promote changes in Social Security, and it's never too late to save for retirement, come to think of it.
CNN's Bill Hemmer joins us now for a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."
Good morning.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: How are you doing, Carol? That series continues today. Also, a very intriguing story out of Miami today. Miami Beach in Florida, the mayor is taking the fight against sex offenders to a whole new level. He's come up with a plan now that would make it virtually impossible for them to live in that city. Can he get it passed, though? And will the carts -- courts, rather, allow it? The mayor will talk about that this morning.
You mentioned retirement, Carol. It's never too late. Our series continues today, and today working past 65 to make ends meet. More and more Americans now have to do it. It's not the end of the world, though. We'll look at ways to make sure you love your job even in your golden years. Make sure you love your job, Carol, even in your golden years.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes, I'm laughing.
HEMMER: Yes, I'm chuckling. Part two of our series continues. We'll see you at about 7:00 a.m., 25 minutes away.
COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: Bye-bye.
COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, criminals in the crosshairs. One state takes a stand on self-defense, but critics call it vigilante justice.
And the search for those missing toddlers. Why did it take two days to find them so close to home? And what really happened to them?
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: A look at the markets this morning. The Nikkei is down 38 points, the FTSE down almost 28, the German DAX down almost 28.5 points.
We've been telling you about this, the heartbreaking end to the search for two toddlers in Georgia. The bodies of 2-year-old Nicole Payne and 3-year-old Jonah Payne were found in a pond on Monday afternoon, just a few hundred yards from their home. The pond had been searched over the weekend, but the bodies were hidden under green bacteria or algae on the surface of the water.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BANKHEAD, GBI DIR. OF COMMUNICATIONS: They might have been down below that. And when they went by again the second time today, law enforcement did see kind of a bump in that algae and took a closer look and saw that it was the body of the -- I believe it was the young girl. And then a further examination a few free from that they discovered the body of the boy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The mother says the children disappeared Saturday when she briefly went to the bathroom.
Joining us now to give us some more perspective in this investigation is former FBI special agent Don Clark.
Don, good morning.
DON CLARK, FMR. FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: At face value when you look at this case, what does it say to you?
CLARK: Well, at face value, you know, obviously you want to think it was an accident. You want to think of little kids just kind of wandering away, Carol. And you also have to be, at any time you have these types of investigations, you've got to be sensitive to the family at all times. But nonetheless, you cannot miss any opportunities to be consistent with investigative standards as to how you go about these. So, sometimes it gets a little bit tough for the family, but you've got to do the right things early on in these investigations.
COSTELLO: You do, because there are a number of puzzling things about this case. The mother says she went to the bathroom for just a moment. Her 2-year-old, Nicole, has a breathing problem. Apparently she has to be on some kind of machine on a daily basis. The son, Jonah, is 3 years old. He also has medical problems. He needs to take medication. And yet, the doors were apparently unlocked, and the children managed to get down to that pond a few hundred yards away in a matter of minutes.
CLARK: Yes, you've got to take everything under consideration. Again, as you mentioned, when you look at the medical condition of these kids, and one would wonder that, well, somebody should be monitoring these kids at all times. Now, we can't second-guess, because we're not there. And those of us who have kids and grandkids know that they will disappear pretty quickly.
But from an investigative standpoint, you've got to start looking at who could have possibly had an opportunity to involve themselves in some type of foul play here, because you cannot rule that out and just automatically assume that it's an accident. So, you start to look at that. And, again, sometimes it gets a little bit difficult for the family, but you have to ask the tough questions and you have to use the tough investigative techniques to try to get to the bottom of this.
COSTELLO: Right. And what would those techniques be? Polygraph tests? I heard that they had been used already.
CLARK: Yes. You know, oftentimes -- and, Carol, I've had experience using the polygraph test early on with families. And that's a tough one. But the thing is, too, is that law enforcement has to sit down with the family and let them know that this is as much an exercise to eliminate someone as it is to try to find out who actually did it, because then once you eliminate those people, whoever they may be, whether it's family, friends or relatives, then you can move on to other aspects of the investigation, which may get you to, if there is foul play involved, the people who are responsible.
COSTELLO: We should mention that police suspect no foul play at this time, but they are still investigating. A final question for you. These children, you know, who knows how long they were in this pond. I guess the autopsy will show that. But the police search the pond, and they don't come up with the bodies of these kids. Is it really because of just the algae?
CLARK: Well, I've sort of thought about that myself is that, you know, you have to be there. You'd have to physically look at this pond and see, why did they not find this out at first? And I don't know what type of search they did. I don't know if they put on diving suits and went in and so forth. But that is a consideration. And only the police know exactly how well or to what extent that they searched that pond at first. But trust me, that will be a point that they will take a look at is that why didn't they find these little bodies at first?
And also, Carol, I'll make one other point. Two years old to walk to that pond sometimes may take a lengthy period of time. So, then it begs the question of how long were these kids away from an adult and supervision?
COSTELLO: Yes, before the mother called 911, and she did that at 6:00 p.m. Eastern on Saturday. FBI Special Agent Don Clark joining us live on DAYBREAK this morning. Thank you.
Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:43 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
You will no longer find Syrian troops in Lebanon. The historic withdrawal was marked by a huge ceremony. Syrian troops first entered its tiny neighbor in 1976. Earlier this year, the former Lebanese prime minister was assassinated, which sparked today's withdrawal.
In money news, Toyota has a message for Detroit: Let the market decide. The world's second-largest automaker says it will not raise prices in order to help the U.S. auto industry.
In culture, there will be no honeymoon, but there will be a civil ceremony. The publicist for Elton John says the singer intends to enter a civil partnership this year or next with his long-term partner, David Furnish.
In sports, the Atlanta Braves have been streaking until last night. The New York Mets beat them 5-4, ending a four-game winning streak. The two are now tied in the NL East.
To the forecast center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: That's a look at the latest headlines for you this morning.
Major cities like Boston and San Francisco are tackling huge transportation projects, but taxpayers are hearing about mismanagement and safety concerns. It's costing them a lot more money than they expected.
Let's check in with CNN's Soledad O'Brien for a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."
Good morning.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, good morning to you.
Yes, big projects, big, big, money, big problems. Last week, of course, you'll recall, we told you about the problems with the Big Dig in Boston. Well, today a similar problem out west, though, the new Oakland Bay Bridge. It's supposed to replace the old one that was damaged by that earthquake 16 years ago. But arguments over design and alleged mismanagement have now stopped the construction. Of course, the question is: Is safety paying the price here?
Also this morning, a very big celebration for Oprah Winfrey. It is the 5-year anniversary of her magazine, "O." Winfrey herself has been on each and every cover. What are some of the stories behind them? We're going to talk to Oprah's best friend and "O's" editor-at- large, Gayle King. She joins us right here.
That's ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING," Carol. We'll see you at the top of the hour.
COSTELLO: All right, we'll be here. Thank you, Soledad.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, he spent more than a decade behind bars for a crime he did not commit. Next, CNN's Marie Hinojosa and her exclusive interview with a man who was convicted and then cleared in the rape of the Central Park jogger.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: We've all seen how one incident can become the rage on the news, 24/7 of pictures, sound bites and new information. Such was the case 18 years ago in New York City, and Maria Hinojosa joins me now with a story of the man who was convicted and jailed, but now he's a teacher, but he was involved in one of the most sensational cases -- I think ever.
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know what happens, Carol, is oftentimes we focus on the moment, the event, the attack on the Central Park jogger, which was 18 years ago, a huge story. And these young men, five young black men were put in jail, and that's kind of where people leave the story. They were put in jail. They were found guilty.
Well, not so easy. Two years ago, they were found out that they were wrongly convicted, wrongly accused, spent all of this time in jail. They never committed the crime. The men who did the rape came forward. The DNA tied in.
We spoke exclusively to one young man. His name is Yousef Saolaam, and this is his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HINOJOSA (voice-over): Yousef Saolaam has a radiant smile, 31- years old with three small children. These days, Central Park is just a place to take his kids.
YOUSEF SAOLAAM, WRONGLY CONVICTED OF RAPE: That's about all you can go.
HINOJOSA: A gentle man, Yousef speaks in a soft voice, counseling college students on what justice means to young black men.
SAOLAAM: What kept me was continuously just believing that one day I'm going to be free from this.
HINOJOSA: He lectures state legislators about the high cost of mistakes made by the legal system.
SAOLAAM: I was 15 years old, just a boy when these events changed my life forever. Because I was the tallest and presumably the darkest skin of my co-defendants, people pointed at me and said things like, "What we need to do is hang him."
HINOJOSA: And he runs an organization he co-founded called People United for Children, helping teens navigate the same criminal justice system he faced at 15.
SAOLAAM: Whether a person is innocent or guilty, there are things that they can do.
HINOJOSA: Yousef knows firsthand the frenzy of what a teen goes through in the criminal justice system. It was 1989 and New York was a city besieged by crime and divided by race. It was no surprise when the media seized on a story known as the attack on the Central Park jogger.
SAOLAAM: The trial hadn't even started, and we were being judged, tried and convicted in the media.
HINOJOSA: A group of black teens had allegedly raped and beaten white jogger Trisha Meili in a rampage. The press called it "wilding," as in a popular rap song "Wild Thing."
Police arrested Yousef and four other young men, who were quickly branded as animals, the Central Park five, the face of the urban crime nightmare. All the boys except Yousef made detailed videotaped confessions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is my first rape. I never did this before. This going to be my last time doing it. This is my first experience.
HINOJOSA: They were all convicted and sent to prison. Yousef was sentenced to 5 to 10 years.
SAOLAAM: Once you pay that first guilty, it's just like echoing guilty, guilty, guilty.
HINOJOSA: Then, 13 years later, another man confessed to being the real rapist of the Central Park jogger. Matias Reyes, who was serving a life sentence for another rape and murder, said he had acted alone.
SAOLAAM: All we were saying was, look, you have the wrong people. You really need to go back out there and continue to search, continue to look for the real perpetrator of the crime. The other women that he raped after the Central Park jogger would not have been raped had they been on their job.
HINOJOSA: Despite discrepancies in the videotaped confessions, no other suspect was ever pursued.
(on camera): Do you wish that that night you hadn't gone to the park?
SAOLAAM: In many ways, yes. You know, they always say hindsight is 20/20. So, had I been able to avoid the experiences of being put into prison, the experiences of seeing just madness, you know, definitely I would have tried to avoid that at all costs.
For 13 years, my mom wore this shirt. You know, for 13 years, the families struggled.
HINOJOSA (voice-over): Yousef went to jail a child and came out a man, his record erased, his name taken off the state sexual predator's list. But the scars remain.
SAOLAAM: No one has come forth and said, I'm sorry, or, listen, we apologize for putting you through probably the worst time of your life. Even though I was exonerated, there are still a lot of folks that believe that I was guilty.
HINOJOSA: These days, Yousef is learning to use the media to his own benefit. He wants to create a TV show for urban teens. He prays for those kids as he once prayed for his own future and for the victim whose pain he recognizes.
SAOLAAM: My heart definitely goes out to her. We were victimized in this situation just like she was a victim in this situation. We did someone else's time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: A powerful story, and I have so many questions. He was in the park that night. And I'm not saying that it was, of course, right that he was sent to jail unfairly. But some might say he was causing problems in the park that night, and that's what led police to him and these other kids.
HINOJOSA: Well, when we were doing the interview, that was off limits, what happened in the park that night. But he was in the park that night. There were a lot of kids who were, you know, messing around, jumping on joggers, you know, pushing people off their bikes.
COSTELLO: Terrorizing people. They were wilding.
HINOJOSA: They were wilding them.
COSTELLO: It was scary.
HINOJOSA: But from his perspective, to be involved with that and then to be accused of a crime as violent and as brutal as the Central Park jogger attack and then to spend that many years in prison, two very different stories.
COSTELLO: Two very different. Some of the kids confessed. He did not.
HINOJOSA: That's right. Some of the kids confessed. Those confessions were very problematic, Carol, because these were all 15 and 16-year-old kids. Yousef Saolaam never confessed. His mother was tied to him the entire time.
And when I asked him, because, you know, what drew me to him was the fact that here was this young man who had this -- you know, this persona, this aura of just smiling, happy. And when I realized that this was the same guy who had spent, you know, close to eight years in prison, how do you do that? And he said, you know what? My mother never gave up on me. My family, my friends, they knew that I wasn't guilty of this crime.
And he doesn't look back. He would like to have an apology. He is suing the city for a lot of money.
COSTELLO: So that could turn into a big "I'm sorry," right. HINOJOSA: Exactly. But for now, he says he doesn't look back. He's focused on his kids and trying to move forward and give what he can to other young people.
COSTELLO: A fascinating story. Maria Hinojosa, thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
HINOJOSA: My pleasure.
COSTELLO: You are watching DAYBREAK for a Tuesday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Let's end on a happy note, shall we, Chad?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Giving away a coffee mug. This time, Carol, somebody in Oklahoma. There you go.
Here are the questions from yesterday. What season now of "American Idol" are they airing? And that's number four. And what is the average price of a gallon of gas in the United States? Two dollars and 24 cents.
And the winner, Jerry Brown from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Many of you guys had some severe weather there yesterday. Maybe you need a little coffee break this morning, because you probably didn't sleep very much.
Now the questions for today. We spoke to the author of "God on the Quad." What is the nickname of the author used for students choosing an evangelical university? What's the nickname of that? And how much do Americans have in delinquent student loan payments?
CNN.com/daybreak. CNN.com/daybreak. The questions will be there as well -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Oh, they're hard questions this morning!
MYERS: They are. And we did them quite a few minutes ago, too, so you had to be watching a long time.
COSTELLO: And it was really quick. They went by really quickly.
MYERS: Well, I know, but we had 600 correct answers yesterday, so we tried to narrow it down a little.
COSTELLO: Too hard to pick a winner, I know.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
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Aired April 26, 2005 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A military hearing begins today to determine whether a U.S. Marine will be charged with murder in a combat shooting. Second Lieutenant Ilario Pantano is accused of killing two Iraqis last year during a search for a terrorist hideout. Defense attorneys say Pantano was just doing his job. Prosecutors say they'll present evidence to the contrary at the Camp Lejeune hearing.
The sentencing phase for Army Sergeant Hasan Akbar picks up again today at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Akbar was convicted last week of killing two of his fellow officers and wounding 14 others. It happened during a grenade and rifle attack two years ago in Kuwait. Akbar could get the death penalty or life in prison.
Pentagon officials say U.S. troops have been cleared in the shooting death of an Italian security agent in Baghdad last month and the wounding of a freed Italian journalist. The car came under fire at a U.S. checkpoint on the way to the Baghdad Airport. The journalist called the findings a -- quote -- "slap in the face."
Myth becomes reality for U.S. Marines at a base along the Syria- Iraq border. They came under heavy attack as insurgents launched a well-coordinated suicide assault.
CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In war, the outcome often hinges on the actions of a single person, like 21-year-old Lance Corporal Joshua Butler of Altoona, Pennsylvania.
MELISSA BENSON, LANCE CPL. BUTLER'S MOTHER: This is my son's room. You can tell he's proud to be a Marine.
MCINTYRE: According to his mother, Butler wanted since childhood to be a Marine, like his cousin, uncle and great-grandfather before him.
BENSON: The earliest recollection that I have is him putting on my brother's Marine Corps shirt and hat, and marching up and down the hall, and saying, "I'm going to be a Marine some day."
MCINTYRE: He begged his mother to sign his enlistment papers, which she did, only to be shocked when she later saw him at Camp Lejeune. BENSON: And when he'd come walking across the parking lot with that big gun, I was like, oh, my gosh, that's my baby carrying that gun.
MCINTYRE: It was Butler's big gun that thwarted a bold attack two weeks ago on a remote Marine outpost on the Iraq/Syria border. It began when a suicide bomber tried to ram a truck past the camp's defenses. Firing from his number two guard tower, Corporal Butler forced the truck to veer to the side. The resulting explosion knocked Butler down and filled the air with white smoke.
What came next, Butler told a "Washington Post" reporter, was like something out of a movie.
STEVE FAINARU, "WASHINGTON POST" REPORTER: You had the smoke that was left over from the first bomb and the debris. And it hadn't yet cleared. And then here came this fire truck, just literally out of the smoke, heading straight toward the base.
MCINTYRE: The Marines had been warned insurgents were planning to use a fire truck as a weapon, but were beginning to think it was a myth.
COL. ROBERT CHASE, U.S. MARINES OP. OFFICER: In that particular case, we had heard fire trucks were in the area and could possibly be used. So, when they saw it coming, it was not a surprise to them.
MCINTYRE: As it sped past a mural bidding travelers goodbye from free Iraq, the fire truck may not have been a surprise. But it was terrifying.
FAINARU: One of the Marines said that when he actually saw it coming up the road, it was like the grim reaper himself driving up this road heading for the base. And that his heart basically stopped.
MCINTYRE: Again, it was Butler's quick reaction and heavy machine gun fire that forced the fire truck to explode before it could get past the inner defenses. An inspection of the tangled wreckage revealed the fire truck was packed with propane tanks of explosives and outfitted with a bulletproof windshield to protect the two suicide attackers inside.
Marine commanders admit it was an audacious plan.
CHASE: I think the idea was that the first two vehicles would attempt to breach, the sheer weight and size and mass of the fire truck would then force its way through whatever breach was caused.
MCINTYRE: The attack had failed. But the battle continued for almost 24 hours. When the dust cleared, the Marines say some 19 insurgents were dead and the Marines had suffered no serious casualties.
Back home in Altoona, a Marine's mother is bursting with pride and worry. BENSON: I go from being so extremely proud that I can't stand it and wanting the whole world to know what he's done, and then go into a complete panic.
MCINTYRE: And as for her son's promised safe return? That chapter of his story will have to wait until October when he's scheduled to come home.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: President Bush is winding down his 60-day tour to promote changes in Social Security, and it's never too late to save for retirement, come to think of it.
CNN's Bill Hemmer joins us now for a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."
Good morning.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: How are you doing, Carol? That series continues today. Also, a very intriguing story out of Miami today. Miami Beach in Florida, the mayor is taking the fight against sex offenders to a whole new level. He's come up with a plan now that would make it virtually impossible for them to live in that city. Can he get it passed, though? And will the carts -- courts, rather, allow it? The mayor will talk about that this morning.
You mentioned retirement, Carol. It's never too late. Our series continues today, and today working past 65 to make ends meet. More and more Americans now have to do it. It's not the end of the world, though. We'll look at ways to make sure you love your job even in your golden years. Make sure you love your job, Carol, even in your golden years.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes, I'm laughing.
HEMMER: Yes, I'm chuckling. Part two of our series continues. We'll see you at about 7:00 a.m., 25 minutes away.
COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: Bye-bye.
COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, criminals in the crosshairs. One state takes a stand on self-defense, but critics call it vigilante justice.
And the search for those missing toddlers. Why did it take two days to find them so close to home? And what really happened to them?
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: A look at the markets this morning. The Nikkei is down 38 points, the FTSE down almost 28, the German DAX down almost 28.5 points.
We've been telling you about this, the heartbreaking end to the search for two toddlers in Georgia. The bodies of 2-year-old Nicole Payne and 3-year-old Jonah Payne were found in a pond on Monday afternoon, just a few hundred yards from their home. The pond had been searched over the weekend, but the bodies were hidden under green bacteria or algae on the surface of the water.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BANKHEAD, GBI DIR. OF COMMUNICATIONS: They might have been down below that. And when they went by again the second time today, law enforcement did see kind of a bump in that algae and took a closer look and saw that it was the body of the -- I believe it was the young girl. And then a further examination a few free from that they discovered the body of the boy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The mother says the children disappeared Saturday when she briefly went to the bathroom.
Joining us now to give us some more perspective in this investigation is former FBI special agent Don Clark.
Don, good morning.
DON CLARK, FMR. FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: At face value when you look at this case, what does it say to you?
CLARK: Well, at face value, you know, obviously you want to think it was an accident. You want to think of little kids just kind of wandering away, Carol. And you also have to be, at any time you have these types of investigations, you've got to be sensitive to the family at all times. But nonetheless, you cannot miss any opportunities to be consistent with investigative standards as to how you go about these. So, sometimes it gets a little bit tough for the family, but you've got to do the right things early on in these investigations.
COSTELLO: You do, because there are a number of puzzling things about this case. The mother says she went to the bathroom for just a moment. Her 2-year-old, Nicole, has a breathing problem. Apparently she has to be on some kind of machine on a daily basis. The son, Jonah, is 3 years old. He also has medical problems. He needs to take medication. And yet, the doors were apparently unlocked, and the children managed to get down to that pond a few hundred yards away in a matter of minutes.
CLARK: Yes, you've got to take everything under consideration. Again, as you mentioned, when you look at the medical condition of these kids, and one would wonder that, well, somebody should be monitoring these kids at all times. Now, we can't second-guess, because we're not there. And those of us who have kids and grandkids know that they will disappear pretty quickly.
But from an investigative standpoint, you've got to start looking at who could have possibly had an opportunity to involve themselves in some type of foul play here, because you cannot rule that out and just automatically assume that it's an accident. So, you start to look at that. And, again, sometimes it gets a little bit difficult for the family, but you have to ask the tough questions and you have to use the tough investigative techniques to try to get to the bottom of this.
COSTELLO: Right. And what would those techniques be? Polygraph tests? I heard that they had been used already.
CLARK: Yes. You know, oftentimes -- and, Carol, I've had experience using the polygraph test early on with families. And that's a tough one. But the thing is, too, is that law enforcement has to sit down with the family and let them know that this is as much an exercise to eliminate someone as it is to try to find out who actually did it, because then once you eliminate those people, whoever they may be, whether it's family, friends or relatives, then you can move on to other aspects of the investigation, which may get you to, if there is foul play involved, the people who are responsible.
COSTELLO: We should mention that police suspect no foul play at this time, but they are still investigating. A final question for you. These children, you know, who knows how long they were in this pond. I guess the autopsy will show that. But the police search the pond, and they don't come up with the bodies of these kids. Is it really because of just the algae?
CLARK: Well, I've sort of thought about that myself is that, you know, you have to be there. You'd have to physically look at this pond and see, why did they not find this out at first? And I don't know what type of search they did. I don't know if they put on diving suits and went in and so forth. But that is a consideration. And only the police know exactly how well or to what extent that they searched that pond at first. But trust me, that will be a point that they will take a look at is that why didn't they find these little bodies at first?
And also, Carol, I'll make one other point. Two years old to walk to that pond sometimes may take a lengthy period of time. So, then it begs the question of how long were these kids away from an adult and supervision?
COSTELLO: Yes, before the mother called 911, and she did that at 6:00 p.m. Eastern on Saturday. FBI Special Agent Don Clark joining us live on DAYBREAK this morning. Thank you.
Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:43 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
You will no longer find Syrian troops in Lebanon. The historic withdrawal was marked by a huge ceremony. Syrian troops first entered its tiny neighbor in 1976. Earlier this year, the former Lebanese prime minister was assassinated, which sparked today's withdrawal.
In money news, Toyota has a message for Detroit: Let the market decide. The world's second-largest automaker says it will not raise prices in order to help the U.S. auto industry.
In culture, there will be no honeymoon, but there will be a civil ceremony. The publicist for Elton John says the singer intends to enter a civil partnership this year or next with his long-term partner, David Furnish.
In sports, the Atlanta Braves have been streaking until last night. The New York Mets beat them 5-4, ending a four-game winning streak. The two are now tied in the NL East.
To the forecast center.
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COSTELLO: That's a look at the latest headlines for you this morning.
Major cities like Boston and San Francisco are tackling huge transportation projects, but taxpayers are hearing about mismanagement and safety concerns. It's costing them a lot more money than they expected.
Let's check in with CNN's Soledad O'Brien for a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."
Good morning.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, good morning to you.
Yes, big projects, big, big, money, big problems. Last week, of course, you'll recall, we told you about the problems with the Big Dig in Boston. Well, today a similar problem out west, though, the new Oakland Bay Bridge. It's supposed to replace the old one that was damaged by that earthquake 16 years ago. But arguments over design and alleged mismanagement have now stopped the construction. Of course, the question is: Is safety paying the price here?
Also this morning, a very big celebration for Oprah Winfrey. It is the 5-year anniversary of her magazine, "O." Winfrey herself has been on each and every cover. What are some of the stories behind them? We're going to talk to Oprah's best friend and "O's" editor-at- large, Gayle King. She joins us right here.
That's ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING," Carol. We'll see you at the top of the hour.
COSTELLO: All right, we'll be here. Thank you, Soledad.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, he spent more than a decade behind bars for a crime he did not commit. Next, CNN's Marie Hinojosa and her exclusive interview with a man who was convicted and then cleared in the rape of the Central Park jogger.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: We've all seen how one incident can become the rage on the news, 24/7 of pictures, sound bites and new information. Such was the case 18 years ago in New York City, and Maria Hinojosa joins me now with a story of the man who was convicted and jailed, but now he's a teacher, but he was involved in one of the most sensational cases -- I think ever.
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know what happens, Carol, is oftentimes we focus on the moment, the event, the attack on the Central Park jogger, which was 18 years ago, a huge story. And these young men, five young black men were put in jail, and that's kind of where people leave the story. They were put in jail. They were found guilty.
Well, not so easy. Two years ago, they were found out that they were wrongly convicted, wrongly accused, spent all of this time in jail. They never committed the crime. The men who did the rape came forward. The DNA tied in.
We spoke exclusively to one young man. His name is Yousef Saolaam, and this is his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HINOJOSA (voice-over): Yousef Saolaam has a radiant smile, 31- years old with three small children. These days, Central Park is just a place to take his kids.
YOUSEF SAOLAAM, WRONGLY CONVICTED OF RAPE: That's about all you can go.
HINOJOSA: A gentle man, Yousef speaks in a soft voice, counseling college students on what justice means to young black men.
SAOLAAM: What kept me was continuously just believing that one day I'm going to be free from this.
HINOJOSA: He lectures state legislators about the high cost of mistakes made by the legal system.
SAOLAAM: I was 15 years old, just a boy when these events changed my life forever. Because I was the tallest and presumably the darkest skin of my co-defendants, people pointed at me and said things like, "What we need to do is hang him."
HINOJOSA: And he runs an organization he co-founded called People United for Children, helping teens navigate the same criminal justice system he faced at 15.
SAOLAAM: Whether a person is innocent or guilty, there are things that they can do.
HINOJOSA: Yousef knows firsthand the frenzy of what a teen goes through in the criminal justice system. It was 1989 and New York was a city besieged by crime and divided by race. It was no surprise when the media seized on a story known as the attack on the Central Park jogger.
SAOLAAM: The trial hadn't even started, and we were being judged, tried and convicted in the media.
HINOJOSA: A group of black teens had allegedly raped and beaten white jogger Trisha Meili in a rampage. The press called it "wilding," as in a popular rap song "Wild Thing."
Police arrested Yousef and four other young men, who were quickly branded as animals, the Central Park five, the face of the urban crime nightmare. All the boys except Yousef made detailed videotaped confessions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is my first rape. I never did this before. This going to be my last time doing it. This is my first experience.
HINOJOSA: They were all convicted and sent to prison. Yousef was sentenced to 5 to 10 years.
SAOLAAM: Once you pay that first guilty, it's just like echoing guilty, guilty, guilty.
HINOJOSA: Then, 13 years later, another man confessed to being the real rapist of the Central Park jogger. Matias Reyes, who was serving a life sentence for another rape and murder, said he had acted alone.
SAOLAAM: All we were saying was, look, you have the wrong people. You really need to go back out there and continue to search, continue to look for the real perpetrator of the crime. The other women that he raped after the Central Park jogger would not have been raped had they been on their job.
HINOJOSA: Despite discrepancies in the videotaped confessions, no other suspect was ever pursued.
(on camera): Do you wish that that night you hadn't gone to the park?
SAOLAAM: In many ways, yes. You know, they always say hindsight is 20/20. So, had I been able to avoid the experiences of being put into prison, the experiences of seeing just madness, you know, definitely I would have tried to avoid that at all costs.
For 13 years, my mom wore this shirt. You know, for 13 years, the families struggled.
HINOJOSA (voice-over): Yousef went to jail a child and came out a man, his record erased, his name taken off the state sexual predator's list. But the scars remain.
SAOLAAM: No one has come forth and said, I'm sorry, or, listen, we apologize for putting you through probably the worst time of your life. Even though I was exonerated, there are still a lot of folks that believe that I was guilty.
HINOJOSA: These days, Yousef is learning to use the media to his own benefit. He wants to create a TV show for urban teens. He prays for those kids as he once prayed for his own future and for the victim whose pain he recognizes.
SAOLAAM: My heart definitely goes out to her. We were victimized in this situation just like she was a victim in this situation. We did someone else's time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: A powerful story, and I have so many questions. He was in the park that night. And I'm not saying that it was, of course, right that he was sent to jail unfairly. But some might say he was causing problems in the park that night, and that's what led police to him and these other kids.
HINOJOSA: Well, when we were doing the interview, that was off limits, what happened in the park that night. But he was in the park that night. There were a lot of kids who were, you know, messing around, jumping on joggers, you know, pushing people off their bikes.
COSTELLO: Terrorizing people. They were wilding.
HINOJOSA: They were wilding them.
COSTELLO: It was scary.
HINOJOSA: But from his perspective, to be involved with that and then to be accused of a crime as violent and as brutal as the Central Park jogger attack and then to spend that many years in prison, two very different stories.
COSTELLO: Two very different. Some of the kids confessed. He did not.
HINOJOSA: That's right. Some of the kids confessed. Those confessions were very problematic, Carol, because these were all 15 and 16-year-old kids. Yousef Saolaam never confessed. His mother was tied to him the entire time.
And when I asked him, because, you know, what drew me to him was the fact that here was this young man who had this -- you know, this persona, this aura of just smiling, happy. And when I realized that this was the same guy who had spent, you know, close to eight years in prison, how do you do that? And he said, you know what? My mother never gave up on me. My family, my friends, they knew that I wasn't guilty of this crime.
And he doesn't look back. He would like to have an apology. He is suing the city for a lot of money.
COSTELLO: So that could turn into a big "I'm sorry," right. HINOJOSA: Exactly. But for now, he says he doesn't look back. He's focused on his kids and trying to move forward and give what he can to other young people.
COSTELLO: A fascinating story. Maria Hinojosa, thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
HINOJOSA: My pleasure.
COSTELLO: You are watching DAYBREAK for a Tuesday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Let's end on a happy note, shall we, Chad?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Giving away a coffee mug. This time, Carol, somebody in Oklahoma. There you go.
Here are the questions from yesterday. What season now of "American Idol" are they airing? And that's number four. And what is the average price of a gallon of gas in the United States? Two dollars and 24 cents.
And the winner, Jerry Brown from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Many of you guys had some severe weather there yesterday. Maybe you need a little coffee break this morning, because you probably didn't sleep very much.
Now the questions for today. We spoke to the author of "God on the Quad." What is the nickname of the author used for students choosing an evangelical university? What's the nickname of that? And how much do Americans have in delinquent student loan payments?
CNN.com/daybreak. CNN.com/daybreak. The questions will be there as well -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Oh, they're hard questions this morning!
MYERS: They are. And we did them quite a few minutes ago, too, so you had to be watching a long time.
COSTELLO: And it was really quick. They went by really quickly.
MYERS: Well, I know, but we had 600 correct answers yesterday, so we tried to narrow it down a little.
COSTELLO: Too hard to pick a winner, I know.
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COSTELLO: "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
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