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Explosions Outside British Consulate on Streets of New York; Criminal Charges Now Being Considered for Runaway Bride

Aired May 05, 2005 - 07:00   ET

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

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


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: There is breaking news this morning. Explosions outside the British consulate earlier today on the streets of New York, all this as Britons are voting on a new government today overseas. At least 23 dead in a series of attacks today in Iraq. Insurgents now claiming well over 200 lives in a week of increasing violence there.
And we may hear today from the runaway bride. Criminal charges now being considered. But will an apology make it all go way? On this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome, everybody.

Also ahead this morning, much more on the capture of that top Al Qaeda suspect we first reported on Wednesday. Counterterrorism experts say he is the terror group's No. 3 man, and he is talking, but will he lead investigators to Osama bin Laden? That's the big question right now.

HEMMER: Also the plea deal for PFC Lynndie England has fallen apart. She had pleaded guilty to prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib. Now her lawyers have to come up with a new plan, we are told. We'll check back in on that story in Texas.

O'BRIEN: That was an interesting turn of events, not really expected.

Good morning, Jack.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: How're you doing?

In another year or so, this trial might finally be over. The prosecution rested in the Michael Jackson child-molestation trial out there in California yesterday. We'll take a look at whether they got the job done. A lot of people think the prosecution came up way short in their efforts to convict this weirdo of abusing little children.

O'BRIEN: It certainly has been a long and very bizarre trial...

HEMMER: Tedious.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks. Well, in a day, the British citizens head to the polls in a national election. Two small explosions at the building that houses the British consulate in New York City. Just over three hours ago, police say two improvised devices exploded in front of the building in Manhattan. The blasts shattered windows, caused no significant damage or injuries, though.

CNN's Jason Carroll live for us on the scene this morning.

Jason, good morning.

Are you hearing anything about the cause of these blasts yet, Jason?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not at this point. We're still waiting to hear from police commissioner Ray Kelly. He's expected to give us an update shortly from now.

I want to recap very quickly if I could in terms of what exactly happened out here. Police say it happened at about 3:50 this morning. They came out here and they found what they're describing as two improvised explosive devices. They were located in a planter in front of the building here which houses the British consulate at 51st and 3rd Avenue on Manhattan's east side. And one of the investigators came out here and described what these explosive devices looked like as the investigators were able to put the shrapnel together. They said they're described as looking like toy grenades. One of them looked like a pineapple. The other one looked like a lemon. Inside both of these devices, black powder and a fuse. That is how they were able to be detonated. Police say that they believe that they went off simultaneously, although some eyewitnesses out here say that they heard two explosions. That's just one of the points that they're going to be working on, trying to figure out.

But as you say, police described the explosion as being a small one. It blew out a window on the first floor. The bomb squad is out here at this point, still combing through the area, although, Soledad, we were allowed to be fairly close to the building at 51st and 3rd. In fact, we were allowed right there at that intersection, which would seem to suggest the area has been clear, at least in some way, although police have still cordoned off a five-block area here just for safety's sake.

Once again, at this point, police commissioner of New York City, police commissioner Ray Kelly is expected to come out here just within a few minutes or so to give us an update. Perhaps we're going to be able to get some more details. Hopefully, he'll be able to answer very many questions that reporters have, in terms of exactly who may have been responsible for what happened here -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: And, Jason, as we mentioned just a moment ago, today is the day that British citizens go to the polls to vote in the national election. I know it's very early, obviously, in the investigation. But is there any indication the explosion and elections are related in any way? CARROLL: Well, as you say, Soledad, the timing is obviously very curious. I did ask one of the investigators out there if anyone had claimed responsibility, if they had heard any word of previous threats? He simply did not know at this point. So that's just obviously one of the things that they're going to be looking into, one of the questions that we're going to be asking as soon as Ray Kelly gets out here. It's the obvious question simply because of the timing. We still don't have an answer for you, but all I can tell you is, at this point, just don't know -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Jason Carroll for us this morning, a couple blocks away in New York City, and of course we're looking forward to that briefing from commissioner Kelly in just a little while. Jason, thanks -- Bill.

HEMMER: We will not leave that story for long today. Want to get to Iraq quickly now. At least 23 are dead. A series of deadly attacks on Iraqi security forces in Baghdad. The victims there include Iraqi army recruits, police and civilians.

Ryan Chilcote has more now live in Baghdad. Ryan, what can you tell us?

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

Well, four attacks to talk about today, all of them in Baghdad, and as you say, all of them targeting Iraqi security forces or their recruits. The first one came this morning, very similar to yesterday's attack up in Erbil on that police-recruitment center. The attack this morning on an army recruitment center. Somehow, just like yesterday, a suicide bomber was able to get in line with these army recruits. When he blew himself up, he killed 13 of those recruits with him and wounded another 20.

Then another suicide bombing attack, this time an unsuccessful assassination attempt on a senior member of Iraq's security forces. That suicide bomber, however, was successful in killing one of his guards and wounding six others. And finally, there were two insurgent ambushes today in the Iraqi Capitol, wounding a total of nine Iraqi policemen. All of this, Bill, coming just one day after that horrific attacks on police recruits up in the Kurdish city of Erbil -- Bill.

HEMMER: Ryan, how is this affecting recruiting?

CHILCOTE: You know, interestingly, the U.S. military says it's not. They say that recruitment is steady. They haven't provided any statistical evidence of that, but they have provided anecdotal evidence of the recruits returning to these recruitment centers after they've being targeted, and returning to them in larger numbers. Very interesting.

I think the reality here, Bill, is that unemployment in Iraq is around 50 percent, and these jobs pay reasonably well by Iraqi standards. You know, a job in the Iraq security forces starts at about $300 a month. And for a lot of young, Iraqi men that's better than nothing -- Bill. HEMMER: Point well taken. Ryan Chilcote in Baghdad -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, the most wanted man in Iraq may be sick or wounded. According to "The Washington Post," the U.S. military is examining reports that Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi was in an Iraqi hospital last week. Written statements from Al-Zarqawi's says that he at the hospital, but that U.S. forces just missed him.

Turning now to the war on terror, Washington says the capture of Al Qaeda's allege number-three man is the worst blow to that terror organization in two years and could give officials new clues in their hunt for Osama bin Laden and also other big targets in Al Qaeda.

David Ensor has our report from Washington D.C. this morning

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. counter- terrorism officials say intelligence gathered by the U.S. from human sources was, quote, "critical" in finding the hideout of Abu Farraj Al-Libbi in northwest Pakistan. The president gave the credit for a difficult, dangerous operation to Pakistan.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I applaud the Pakistani government and President Musharraf for acting on solid intelligence to bring this man to justice.

ENSOR: Al Libbi was captured Monday after a gun battle, U.S. and Pakistani officials say, but word of it was kept quiet. It allowed time to round up other terrorists he might know about.

MOHAMMAD SADIQ, DCM, EMBASSY OF PAKISTAN: The announcement of his arrest was delayed because an operation was going on, and I believe that there was some useful information obtained from him which helped us with more arrests.

ENSOR: Al-Libbi was the number-three man in Al Qaeda, under Osama Bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri, in charge of operations since the capture of his predecessor, Khalid Sheikh Muhammad in 2003. Khalid Sheikh Muhammad is now in CIA hands. Administration officials are nothing less than thrilled at Al-Libbi's capture.

STEVE HADLEY, NATL. SECURITY ADVISER: He was not honestly doing operations, he was a facilitator, he was into finance, he was into administration. This is a real accomplishment.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATL. SECURITY ANALYST: This guy is was my number-one target. Bin Laden, of course, is much more important symbolically, but in terms of practical day-to-day operations, what Al Qaeda is doing, how it threatens the United States, how it plans against targets in the United States, this is the guy I want.

ENSOR (on camera): Do you think he knows where Osama Bin Laden is?

MCLAUGHLIN: If anybody knows where Osama Bin Laden is, this is the man.

ENSOR (voice-over): Since Al-Libbi is charged in Pakistan with masterminding two unsuccessful attempts to assassinate President Pervez Musharraf, one of which killed 17 people, Pakistan may want to keep him, but officials stress that has not been decided yet.

SADIQ: He's a Libyan national. His wife if Libyan. He was found in Pakistan, in Mardan (ph). He is wanted in several countries. So we'll see what happens down the line.

ENSOR: As for Osama Bin Laden, a former official says if Al Libbi knew where he was, then by now, Bin Laden has moved.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: CNN security analyst and former acting CIA director John Mclaughlin is going to join us in our next hour to talk a little bit more about this big arrest.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: "American Idol" showering Paula Abdul last night with flowers. This as the Fox show reels from recent reports of a scandal. Abdul is one of the judges on the show, under fire from this guy right. Corey Clark is his name, a former contestant. Says on ABC's "Primetime Live" last night he and Abdul had an affair. He says, Abdul took him under her wing, coached him how to win and then seduced him. Abdul denies it all, calls Clark a liar.

And meanwhile, "American Idol" down to its final four. Judges voted off Scott Sabo last night. We'll have more from our 90-Second poppers a bit later.

O'BRIEN: Disappointment on his face.

HEMMER: Was it Scott Sabo? You can tell how much I watch the show.

O'BRIEN: More later this hour on that.

Well, of course we are keeping a close eye on those two small explosions outside the building that houses the British consulate right here in New York City. We're going to take a look ahead on that this morning.

Also, after more than 80 witnesses, prosecutors rest their case in the Michael Jackson trial. Their final witness was supposed to be a big old blockbuster. Did he hurt their case instead?

HEMMER: Also, the surprising turn of events in Lynndie England's case. The judge declares a mistrial. Now what?

O'BRIEN: And the runaway bride releases a statement. Is there a chance, though, that she's going to jail? Those stories are all coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: There may be a break in the infamous "precious doe" case from the state of Missouri. You might remember this story: The headless body of a young child found four years ago in Kansas City. That case still unsolved, but police are planning a news conference later today, and we hope to bring that to you live. Of course the latest details as we get them from the state of Missouri.

O'BRIEN: Just shocking that that has not been solved in any way yet, or maybe it has now.

Well, Jennifer Wilbanks marriage saga became a national soap opera. Wilbanks, the so-called runaway bride, expected to issue a formal apology later today in Georgia. With the bride-not-to-be still in seclusion, the statement will likely be delivered by her lawyer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Lydia Sartain is Jennifer Wilbank's attorney. Mrs. Sartain, thanks for being with us this morning.

And first, let me apologize for my kind of raspy voice. I'm fighting a little bit of a cold.

I want to ask you about the apology. On Monday, the district attorney told me that Jennifer Wilbanks had not apologized to him. I talked to Jennifer's prospective father-in-law. He says said he hasn't heard a word from her as well, certainly in any way, shape or form about an apology. Why has Jennifer not made any kind of public statement apologizing to all the people she embarrassed, humiliated and inconvenienced.

LYDIA SARTAIN, ATTORNEY FOR JENNIFER WILBANKS: In fact, she has apologized to those folks. She's made a public apology. We've spoken with the mayor of the city of Duluth. She deeply regrets the inconvenience and pain that she has caused people. So she very, very definitely is apologetic.

O'BRIEN: As you well know, the district attorney now deciding on whether or not he's going to file any kind of criminal charges. The charges would be filing a false police report, making a false statement. Do you think that Jennifer should face any kind of jailtime for these two things?

SARTAIN: Jennifer is not a criminal, did not act with criminal intent. What she really is, is a very troubled young woman who got caught up in something that she just was not able to adequately manage. I do not believe that she has committed a crime in Georgia, in Gwinnett County. I do not believe that jailtime would serve any purpose here in this case.

Understandably, she knows there are consequences to her actions, and there are a variety of ways that she will suffer those consequences. But I do not believe criminal prosecution would be appropriate or serve any purpose?

O'BRIEN: What about any kind of restitution. The city says the cost of the search was somewhere around $60,000. Do you believe Jennifer should pay for the cost city to look for her?

SARTAIN: That figure, Soledad, really is not set just yet, as I understand it. She knows that she has caused a lot of problems and cost people time and money, and she's very sorry about that, and will certainly do whatever she needs to do to begin to make amends for that.

O'BRIEN: Meaning you guys are thinking about some kind of financial restitution at this point?

SARTAIN: We're just trying to assess the situation and see really what the issue is going to be and what those costs may have been or may not have been. So that's something that certainly is under discussion.

O'BRIEN: The district attorney says the issue is intent. When you look at what apparently is known about the case, Jennifer seems to have bought her bus ticket well in advance of her wedding date. She called the taxi to meet her so she could go and get on this bus. She got out of work so she could get her dress altered, or at least that was the excuse at the time. Don't all these things show some kind of intent?

SARTAIN: Well, really, what she did, Soledad, she was off that day. She did a lot of errands and did a lot of running around. And it's true, she bought the ticket a few days earlier, as just sort of as a safety precaution, and she was feeling if she couldn't get through in the days to come, that she would have that, that she could leave on the bus. And in her mind, she used that ticket at the last time that she could.

And really, Soledad, I'm grateful that she got on the bus and used the ticket, rather than doing something harmful to herself.

O'BRIEN: Lydia Sartain, again, is the attorney for Jennifer Wilbanks. Thanks for being with us. We certainly appreciate your time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Jennifer Wilbanks statement is going to be released in a news conference later today. CNN is going to have live coverage. It begins at 4:00 p.m. Eastern -- Bill.

HEMMER: Twenty minutes past the hour. In a moment here, more on that breaking news out of New York City this morning, explosion outside the building that houses the British consulate. What happened there and why? We'll get the latest in a live update right after this, on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. We want to gauge reaction now to this breaking news story here in New York, how the market responding to the blast earlier today at the British consulate. Andy Serwer checking the futures market, back with us now. Also watching trading in London, too. What've you seen?

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: That's right. Futures this morning are skittish, as you might imagine, Bill, in reaction to the two small explosions outside the British consulate here in New York City. Traders taking some comfort, though, perhaps in knowing that the explosions don't seem to be that serious, minimal damage and no injuries, and therefore stabilized a bit this morning.

Also overseas in London, the markets are up a little bit at this hour after dancing around earlier. It is of course election day there, and the news of the explosions came across back the pond as well.

Let's talk about yesterday. Stocks were up sharply, and the reason comes from an unusual source. General motors up more than 18 percent on the news that billionaire Kirk Kerkorian increased his stake in the company by more than 5 percent. Should be interesting there.

IBM this morning will be active in trading. They announced they're going to be laying off 10,000 to 13,000 employees at Big Blue, mostly in Europe, however, and taking a billion-dollar charge, as that company goes through more machinations.

HEMMER: All right, thank you, Andy.

SERWER: You're welcome.

HEMMER: Keep us posted on what's happening overseas.

SERWER: Indeed.

HEMMER: All right.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the Michael Jackson case. The prosecution is done.

CAFFERTY: Let's do. The prosecution in the Michael Jackson case rested yesterday, but they may have come up well short. Ten weeks of testimony. A lot of people don't think that Tom Sneddon and his gang came close to proving that Michael Jackson is a child molester. Witness after witness fell apart on the stand. The 15-year-old alleged victim struggled through cross-examination, contradicted himself, even admitted to lying at one point. Testimony from the accuser's mother, who claims Jackson conspired to held her family captive at Neverland Ranch, wasn't much better. And Debbie Rowe, Jackson's ex-wife, who was supposed to be the star witness for the prosecution, she spent most of the time talking about what a great guy, great husband and great father Michael Jackson is.

So the question is this, did the prosecution in the Michael Jackson trial prove their case? AM@CNN.com is the e-mail address.

O'BRIEN: I would love to know at some point, what went on behind the scenes before the Debbie Rowe testimony? And what were the prosecutors thinking as she became something completely different on the stand?

HEMMER: You never know until it comes out in court.

O'BRIEN: Who prepped her?

HEMMER: On the outside, you know, you read all these reports and talk to all these analysts and they say the prosecution did a poor job. But you never know how the jury's responding. You never know how the jury's reacting.

CAFFERTY: I think they're going to convict him anyway, because there was -- you know what they did. They allowed in all this evidence of prior bad acts, and they had people up there testifying that they saw him serving booze to kids, they saw him molesting children, they saw him in the shower with little boys, they saw him in bed with little boys, and I think, you know, the jury is just going to say, they might not have proved this one, but that's a pedophile if there ever saw one, and I bet they can...

SERWER: Could be enough.

CAFFERTY: And the conspiracy charges I think also interesting, because as nutty as the mother of alleged victim was in cases on the stand was, as people who were witnessing it said, there was some consistent overlap with other witnesses who came to back up, you know, some of the security guards, back up what she was saying, as crazy as it seems, to some of the observers.

HEMMER: Let us know what you think, AM@cnn.com.

Quick break here. More in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.

Ahead on a special edition of "90-Second Pop," that heavily hyped "American Idol" expose finally airing. What kind of private coaching lessons did Paula Abdul actually give.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA ABDUL: You've got my heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Oh, and by the way, another "Idol" wannabe got the boot. That's a bit later on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired May 5, 2005 - 07:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: There is breaking news this morning. Explosions outside the British consulate earlier today on the streets of New York, all this as Britons are voting on a new government today overseas. At least 23 dead in a series of attacks today in Iraq. Insurgents now claiming well over 200 lives in a week of increasing violence there.
And we may hear today from the runaway bride. Criminal charges now being considered. But will an apology make it all go way? On this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome, everybody.

Also ahead this morning, much more on the capture of that top Al Qaeda suspect we first reported on Wednesday. Counterterrorism experts say he is the terror group's No. 3 man, and he is talking, but will he lead investigators to Osama bin Laden? That's the big question right now.

HEMMER: Also the plea deal for PFC Lynndie England has fallen apart. She had pleaded guilty to prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib. Now her lawyers have to come up with a new plan, we are told. We'll check back in on that story in Texas.

O'BRIEN: That was an interesting turn of events, not really expected.

Good morning, Jack.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: How're you doing?

In another year or so, this trial might finally be over. The prosecution rested in the Michael Jackson child-molestation trial out there in California yesterday. We'll take a look at whether they got the job done. A lot of people think the prosecution came up way short in their efforts to convict this weirdo of abusing little children.

O'BRIEN: It certainly has been a long and very bizarre trial...

HEMMER: Tedious.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks. Well, in a day, the British citizens head to the polls in a national election. Two small explosions at the building that houses the British consulate in New York City. Just over three hours ago, police say two improvised devices exploded in front of the building in Manhattan. The blasts shattered windows, caused no significant damage or injuries, though.

CNN's Jason Carroll live for us on the scene this morning.

Jason, good morning.

Are you hearing anything about the cause of these blasts yet, Jason?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not at this point. We're still waiting to hear from police commissioner Ray Kelly. He's expected to give us an update shortly from now.

I want to recap very quickly if I could in terms of what exactly happened out here. Police say it happened at about 3:50 this morning. They came out here and they found what they're describing as two improvised explosive devices. They were located in a planter in front of the building here which houses the British consulate at 51st and 3rd Avenue on Manhattan's east side. And one of the investigators came out here and described what these explosive devices looked like as the investigators were able to put the shrapnel together. They said they're described as looking like toy grenades. One of them looked like a pineapple. The other one looked like a lemon. Inside both of these devices, black powder and a fuse. That is how they were able to be detonated. Police say that they believe that they went off simultaneously, although some eyewitnesses out here say that they heard two explosions. That's just one of the points that they're going to be working on, trying to figure out.

But as you say, police described the explosion as being a small one. It blew out a window on the first floor. The bomb squad is out here at this point, still combing through the area, although, Soledad, we were allowed to be fairly close to the building at 51st and 3rd. In fact, we were allowed right there at that intersection, which would seem to suggest the area has been clear, at least in some way, although police have still cordoned off a five-block area here just for safety's sake.

Once again, at this point, police commissioner of New York City, police commissioner Ray Kelly is expected to come out here just within a few minutes or so to give us an update. Perhaps we're going to be able to get some more details. Hopefully, he'll be able to answer very many questions that reporters have, in terms of exactly who may have been responsible for what happened here -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: And, Jason, as we mentioned just a moment ago, today is the day that British citizens go to the polls to vote in the national election. I know it's very early, obviously, in the investigation. But is there any indication the explosion and elections are related in any way? CARROLL: Well, as you say, Soledad, the timing is obviously very curious. I did ask one of the investigators out there if anyone had claimed responsibility, if they had heard any word of previous threats? He simply did not know at this point. So that's just obviously one of the things that they're going to be looking into, one of the questions that we're going to be asking as soon as Ray Kelly gets out here. It's the obvious question simply because of the timing. We still don't have an answer for you, but all I can tell you is, at this point, just don't know -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Jason Carroll for us this morning, a couple blocks away in New York City, and of course we're looking forward to that briefing from commissioner Kelly in just a little while. Jason, thanks -- Bill.

HEMMER: We will not leave that story for long today. Want to get to Iraq quickly now. At least 23 are dead. A series of deadly attacks on Iraqi security forces in Baghdad. The victims there include Iraqi army recruits, police and civilians.

Ryan Chilcote has more now live in Baghdad. Ryan, what can you tell us?

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

Well, four attacks to talk about today, all of them in Baghdad, and as you say, all of them targeting Iraqi security forces or their recruits. The first one came this morning, very similar to yesterday's attack up in Erbil on that police-recruitment center. The attack this morning on an army recruitment center. Somehow, just like yesterday, a suicide bomber was able to get in line with these army recruits. When he blew himself up, he killed 13 of those recruits with him and wounded another 20.

Then another suicide bombing attack, this time an unsuccessful assassination attempt on a senior member of Iraq's security forces. That suicide bomber, however, was successful in killing one of his guards and wounding six others. And finally, there were two insurgent ambushes today in the Iraqi Capitol, wounding a total of nine Iraqi policemen. All of this, Bill, coming just one day after that horrific attacks on police recruits up in the Kurdish city of Erbil -- Bill.

HEMMER: Ryan, how is this affecting recruiting?

CHILCOTE: You know, interestingly, the U.S. military says it's not. They say that recruitment is steady. They haven't provided any statistical evidence of that, but they have provided anecdotal evidence of the recruits returning to these recruitment centers after they've being targeted, and returning to them in larger numbers. Very interesting.

I think the reality here, Bill, is that unemployment in Iraq is around 50 percent, and these jobs pay reasonably well by Iraqi standards. You know, a job in the Iraq security forces starts at about $300 a month. And for a lot of young, Iraqi men that's better than nothing -- Bill. HEMMER: Point well taken. Ryan Chilcote in Baghdad -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, the most wanted man in Iraq may be sick or wounded. According to "The Washington Post," the U.S. military is examining reports that Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi was in an Iraqi hospital last week. Written statements from Al-Zarqawi's says that he at the hospital, but that U.S. forces just missed him.

Turning now to the war on terror, Washington says the capture of Al Qaeda's allege number-three man is the worst blow to that terror organization in two years and could give officials new clues in their hunt for Osama bin Laden and also other big targets in Al Qaeda.

David Ensor has our report from Washington D.C. this morning

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. counter- terrorism officials say intelligence gathered by the U.S. from human sources was, quote, "critical" in finding the hideout of Abu Farraj Al-Libbi in northwest Pakistan. The president gave the credit for a difficult, dangerous operation to Pakistan.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I applaud the Pakistani government and President Musharraf for acting on solid intelligence to bring this man to justice.

ENSOR: Al Libbi was captured Monday after a gun battle, U.S. and Pakistani officials say, but word of it was kept quiet. It allowed time to round up other terrorists he might know about.

MOHAMMAD SADIQ, DCM, EMBASSY OF PAKISTAN: The announcement of his arrest was delayed because an operation was going on, and I believe that there was some useful information obtained from him which helped us with more arrests.

ENSOR: Al-Libbi was the number-three man in Al Qaeda, under Osama Bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri, in charge of operations since the capture of his predecessor, Khalid Sheikh Muhammad in 2003. Khalid Sheikh Muhammad is now in CIA hands. Administration officials are nothing less than thrilled at Al-Libbi's capture.

STEVE HADLEY, NATL. SECURITY ADVISER: He was not honestly doing operations, he was a facilitator, he was into finance, he was into administration. This is a real accomplishment.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATL. SECURITY ANALYST: This guy is was my number-one target. Bin Laden, of course, is much more important symbolically, but in terms of practical day-to-day operations, what Al Qaeda is doing, how it threatens the United States, how it plans against targets in the United States, this is the guy I want.

ENSOR (on camera): Do you think he knows where Osama Bin Laden is?

MCLAUGHLIN: If anybody knows where Osama Bin Laden is, this is the man.

ENSOR (voice-over): Since Al-Libbi is charged in Pakistan with masterminding two unsuccessful attempts to assassinate President Pervez Musharraf, one of which killed 17 people, Pakistan may want to keep him, but officials stress that has not been decided yet.

SADIQ: He's a Libyan national. His wife if Libyan. He was found in Pakistan, in Mardan (ph). He is wanted in several countries. So we'll see what happens down the line.

ENSOR: As for Osama Bin Laden, a former official says if Al Libbi knew where he was, then by now, Bin Laden has moved.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: CNN security analyst and former acting CIA director John Mclaughlin is going to join us in our next hour to talk a little bit more about this big arrest.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: "American Idol" showering Paula Abdul last night with flowers. This as the Fox show reels from recent reports of a scandal. Abdul is one of the judges on the show, under fire from this guy right. Corey Clark is his name, a former contestant. Says on ABC's "Primetime Live" last night he and Abdul had an affair. He says, Abdul took him under her wing, coached him how to win and then seduced him. Abdul denies it all, calls Clark a liar.

And meanwhile, "American Idol" down to its final four. Judges voted off Scott Sabo last night. We'll have more from our 90-Second poppers a bit later.

O'BRIEN: Disappointment on his face.

HEMMER: Was it Scott Sabo? You can tell how much I watch the show.

O'BRIEN: More later this hour on that.

Well, of course we are keeping a close eye on those two small explosions outside the building that houses the British consulate right here in New York City. We're going to take a look ahead on that this morning.

Also, after more than 80 witnesses, prosecutors rest their case in the Michael Jackson trial. Their final witness was supposed to be a big old blockbuster. Did he hurt their case instead?

HEMMER: Also, the surprising turn of events in Lynndie England's case. The judge declares a mistrial. Now what?

O'BRIEN: And the runaway bride releases a statement. Is there a chance, though, that she's going to jail? Those stories are all coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

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HEMMER: There may be a break in the infamous "precious doe" case from the state of Missouri. You might remember this story: The headless body of a young child found four years ago in Kansas City. That case still unsolved, but police are planning a news conference later today, and we hope to bring that to you live. Of course the latest details as we get them from the state of Missouri.

O'BRIEN: Just shocking that that has not been solved in any way yet, or maybe it has now.

Well, Jennifer Wilbanks marriage saga became a national soap opera. Wilbanks, the so-called runaway bride, expected to issue a formal apology later today in Georgia. With the bride-not-to-be still in seclusion, the statement will likely be delivered by her lawyer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Lydia Sartain is Jennifer Wilbank's attorney. Mrs. Sartain, thanks for being with us this morning.

And first, let me apologize for my kind of raspy voice. I'm fighting a little bit of a cold.

I want to ask you about the apology. On Monday, the district attorney told me that Jennifer Wilbanks had not apologized to him. I talked to Jennifer's prospective father-in-law. He says said he hasn't heard a word from her as well, certainly in any way, shape or form about an apology. Why has Jennifer not made any kind of public statement apologizing to all the people she embarrassed, humiliated and inconvenienced.

LYDIA SARTAIN, ATTORNEY FOR JENNIFER WILBANKS: In fact, she has apologized to those folks. She's made a public apology. We've spoken with the mayor of the city of Duluth. She deeply regrets the inconvenience and pain that she has caused people. So she very, very definitely is apologetic.

O'BRIEN: As you well know, the district attorney now deciding on whether or not he's going to file any kind of criminal charges. The charges would be filing a false police report, making a false statement. Do you think that Jennifer should face any kind of jailtime for these two things?

SARTAIN: Jennifer is not a criminal, did not act with criminal intent. What she really is, is a very troubled young woman who got caught up in something that she just was not able to adequately manage. I do not believe that she has committed a crime in Georgia, in Gwinnett County. I do not believe that jailtime would serve any purpose here in this case.

Understandably, she knows there are consequences to her actions, and there are a variety of ways that she will suffer those consequences. But I do not believe criminal prosecution would be appropriate or serve any purpose?

O'BRIEN: What about any kind of restitution. The city says the cost of the search was somewhere around $60,000. Do you believe Jennifer should pay for the cost city to look for her?

SARTAIN: That figure, Soledad, really is not set just yet, as I understand it. She knows that she has caused a lot of problems and cost people time and money, and she's very sorry about that, and will certainly do whatever she needs to do to begin to make amends for that.

O'BRIEN: Meaning you guys are thinking about some kind of financial restitution at this point?

SARTAIN: We're just trying to assess the situation and see really what the issue is going to be and what those costs may have been or may not have been. So that's something that certainly is under discussion.

O'BRIEN: The district attorney says the issue is intent. When you look at what apparently is known about the case, Jennifer seems to have bought her bus ticket well in advance of her wedding date. She called the taxi to meet her so she could go and get on this bus. She got out of work so she could get her dress altered, or at least that was the excuse at the time. Don't all these things show some kind of intent?

SARTAIN: Well, really, what she did, Soledad, she was off that day. She did a lot of errands and did a lot of running around. And it's true, she bought the ticket a few days earlier, as just sort of as a safety precaution, and she was feeling if she couldn't get through in the days to come, that she would have that, that she could leave on the bus. And in her mind, she used that ticket at the last time that she could.

And really, Soledad, I'm grateful that she got on the bus and used the ticket, rather than doing something harmful to herself.

O'BRIEN: Lydia Sartain, again, is the attorney for Jennifer Wilbanks. Thanks for being with us. We certainly appreciate your time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Jennifer Wilbanks statement is going to be released in a news conference later today. CNN is going to have live coverage. It begins at 4:00 p.m. Eastern -- Bill.

HEMMER: Twenty minutes past the hour. In a moment here, more on that breaking news out of New York City this morning, explosion outside the building that houses the British consulate. What happened there and why? We'll get the latest in a live update right after this, on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. We want to gauge reaction now to this breaking news story here in New York, how the market responding to the blast earlier today at the British consulate. Andy Serwer checking the futures market, back with us now. Also watching trading in London, too. What've you seen?

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: That's right. Futures this morning are skittish, as you might imagine, Bill, in reaction to the two small explosions outside the British consulate here in New York City. Traders taking some comfort, though, perhaps in knowing that the explosions don't seem to be that serious, minimal damage and no injuries, and therefore stabilized a bit this morning.

Also overseas in London, the markets are up a little bit at this hour after dancing around earlier. It is of course election day there, and the news of the explosions came across back the pond as well.

Let's talk about yesterday. Stocks were up sharply, and the reason comes from an unusual source. General motors up more than 18 percent on the news that billionaire Kirk Kerkorian increased his stake in the company by more than 5 percent. Should be interesting there.

IBM this morning will be active in trading. They announced they're going to be laying off 10,000 to 13,000 employees at Big Blue, mostly in Europe, however, and taking a billion-dollar charge, as that company goes through more machinations.

HEMMER: All right, thank you, Andy.

SERWER: You're welcome.

HEMMER: Keep us posted on what's happening overseas.

SERWER: Indeed.

HEMMER: All right.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the Michael Jackson case. The prosecution is done.

CAFFERTY: Let's do. The prosecution in the Michael Jackson case rested yesterday, but they may have come up well short. Ten weeks of testimony. A lot of people don't think that Tom Sneddon and his gang came close to proving that Michael Jackson is a child molester. Witness after witness fell apart on the stand. The 15-year-old alleged victim struggled through cross-examination, contradicted himself, even admitted to lying at one point. Testimony from the accuser's mother, who claims Jackson conspired to held her family captive at Neverland Ranch, wasn't much better. And Debbie Rowe, Jackson's ex-wife, who was supposed to be the star witness for the prosecution, she spent most of the time talking about what a great guy, great husband and great father Michael Jackson is.

So the question is this, did the prosecution in the Michael Jackson trial prove their case? AM@CNN.com is the e-mail address.

O'BRIEN: I would love to know at some point, what went on behind the scenes before the Debbie Rowe testimony? And what were the prosecutors thinking as she became something completely different on the stand?

HEMMER: You never know until it comes out in court.

O'BRIEN: Who prepped her?

HEMMER: On the outside, you know, you read all these reports and talk to all these analysts and they say the prosecution did a poor job. But you never know how the jury's responding. You never know how the jury's reacting.

CAFFERTY: I think they're going to convict him anyway, because there was -- you know what they did. They allowed in all this evidence of prior bad acts, and they had people up there testifying that they saw him serving booze to kids, they saw him molesting children, they saw him in the shower with little boys, they saw him in bed with little boys, and I think, you know, the jury is just going to say, they might not have proved this one, but that's a pedophile if there ever saw one, and I bet they can...

SERWER: Could be enough.

CAFFERTY: And the conspiracy charges I think also interesting, because as nutty as the mother of alleged victim was in cases on the stand was, as people who were witnessing it said, there was some consistent overlap with other witnesses who came to back up, you know, some of the security guards, back up what she was saying, as crazy as it seems, to some of the observers.

HEMMER: Let us know what you think, AM@cnn.com.

Quick break here. More in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.

Ahead on a special edition of "90-Second Pop," that heavily hyped "American Idol" expose finally airing. What kind of private coaching lessons did Paula Abdul actually give.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA ABDUL: You've got my heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Oh, and by the way, another "Idol" wannabe got the boot. That's a bit later on AMERICAN MORNING.

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