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American Morning

Laguna Landslide; Wave of Attacks; Killer at Large

Aired June 02, 2005 - 09:00   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: Good morning. A thousand people forced from their homes after a landslide in California already today. Waiting word again for word of who can go home and when. A live report from Laguna Beach in a moment here.
Also, this wave of attacks overnight in Iraq. Three suicide bombings in only 45 minutes. Live to Baghdad as well.

And the real story of Deep Throat from the other man at those secret meetings. We'll examine the incredible story told by Bob Woodward in today's edition of the "Washington Post."

That's ahead 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 back, everybody.

Also ahead this morning, a new book out about the Clinton presidency.

HEMMER: The book writes about the former president's legendary temper, also talks about a significant change of personality that he underwent early during his time in office. We'll talk to the author with that book out now.

O'BRIEN: The White House to some degree is also the focus of the "Question of the Day," which is about the Nixon White House, I guess.

Good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Deep Throat, hero or villain? Was he a patriot, duty-bound to reveal malfeasance at the highest levels of this nation's government, or simply a disgruntled bureaucrat who had been passed over for the top job at the FBI and had the long knives out for the boss?

AM@CNN.com.

O'BRIEN: I love this question today. Jack, thanks.

Headlines now with Carol Costello.

Good morning again, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.

""Now in the News," a court appearance for the so-called runaway bride. Jennifer Wilbanks appearing in court in Georgia right now. We just got these pictures in. Let's take a look.

You remember Jennifer Wilbanks. She disappeared days before her wedding, then made up a story about being kidnapped. Well, she has paid the city of Duluth for their troubles some $13,000, but she is now facing criminal charges. We'll tell you what happens later today.

Her fiance, look at that, beside her. Still standing by her side. Interesting.

Lawyers in the Michael Jackson trial are set to start their closing arguments just about three hours from now. The prosecution and defense each have up to four hours to make their case. The trial could go to the jury by the end of today or tomorrow.

A leading anti-Syrian journalist has been killed in Lebanon. Police say his car exploded earlier today in a Christian area of Beirut. The man wrote for a Lebanese newspaper critical of Syria. An unidentified woman was wounded in the blast.

President Bush is promoting his Social Security reforms today in western Kentucky. The president is set to take part in a roundtable discussion in Hopkinsville, near Fort Campbell. Some 1,000 supporters are expected to attend. Mr. Bush will then stop by a GOP fund-raiser in St. Louis before he heads on to his Texas ranch for a long weekend.

And it is now down to 51. The final round of the National Spelling Bee getting under way this morning in Washington.

The competition began with more than 270 hopefuls, but many got stung by words such as kakemono and cyamonke (ph). We'll have the spelling bee champ, by the way, live on AMERICAN MORNING tomorrow.

Chad, I don't even know what those words mean.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I mean...

COSTELLO: What are you laughing? You don't either.

MYERS: I can smell mug. That's what I got right this morning, coffee mug, M-U-G. Use it in a sentence, Chad gave away a mug.

COSTELLO: The coffee part was too hard to spell for you, though.

MYERS: Right, exactly.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: We want to keep it on the West Coast right now. There are clearly word that more landslides could be coming today in southern California.

This hillside section of Laguna Beach giving way early on Wednesday. People scrambling from their beds as homes began to slide down this 50-foot slope without any warning.

After watching the video, it may be hard to believe, but there were no serious injuries yesterday in Laguna. So far, though, a thousand people have been evacuated.

Chris Lawrence back in Laguna Beach with us live this morning.

What's happening now, Chris? Good morning.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, so far 18 homes have been completely destroyed by this landslide. And depending on how the ground moves, another 11 could also be in danger.

Of all the days, it's been drizzling here, actually, for the past couple hours. And that soil can shift at any time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): Some homes cracked in half as the ground gave way. Others appeared to stay in tact, even as they slid down this hillside.

JILL LOCKHART, HOME DESTROYED IN LANDSLIDE: We ran down the front side of the mountain , and we could hear this house collapsing behind us, sinking in, and I guess the driveway moved 200 feet down as we were running down it.

LAWRENCE: And the ground could keep moving for the next few weeks.

CAPT. DANELL ADAMS, LAGUNA BEACH P.D.: I certainly encourage people, one, to leave the area, and, two, to stay out of the area.

LAWRENCE: Vera Martinez doesn't have a choice.

VERA MARTINEZ, EVACUATED FROM HOME: My house is right above there.

LAWRENCE: Her home has been red tagged, which means it could collapse at any time. And the frightening this is, if that happens, she's got no insurance coverage.

MARTINEZ: What angers me, is that there is no company that will offer any kind of landslide insurance.

LAWRENCE: Insurance companies won't cover mudslides, which fall under so-called "acts of God." Laguna's been dry for the past month, but this winter dumped more than 28 inches of rain, twice what the town sees in a normal year. Geologists say that water never drained, and slowly destabilized the soil.

MARTINEZ: It's about Mother Nature saying, you know, pay attention to me a little bit more, don't build here; don't build here.

LAWRENCE: But people have and always will, because someone will always want to wake up to this view. Here's what this hillside looked like before the landslide. And here is what it looks like now. Laguna Beach has some prime ocean- front property, but sometimes it comes at an incredible price.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: Laguna Beach has been declared a local disaster area. And some residents blame not only the weather but the housing boom. They say there's just too many big homes being built on these hills.

Now, last night, scientists placed measurement devices around the effected areas. They will be checking those today to see how much the ground has moved -- Bill.

HEMMER: Chris Lawrence, thanks, in Laguna.

In about 30 minutes, we'll get the latest on what's happening there in the security situation from the captain of Laguna Beach Police Department. We'll have that at the half-hour -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: To Iraq now, where three suicide car bombs killed 16 people, wounded 53, all within 45 minutes today. A new word of a deadly drive-by shooting as well.

Jennifer Eccleston is live for us in Baghdad in morning.

Jennifer, who was targeted in these attacks?

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's mostly targeting officials. I -- whether it's Iraqi government officials or American coalition officials, what we saw today was seemingly coordinated attacks. Yet another example of the violence, Soledad, that shattered large parts of this country.

We are getting word in now that nine people have been killed in a drive-by shooting at a busy market here in Baghdad, in northwest Baghdad. We're also getting some word from Iraqi officials of an explosion, that a motorcycle rigged with explosives detonated in the center of Mosul.

That's also in northern Iraq. That happened a short while ago. Iraqi officials telling CNN that there was one Iraqi policeman so far who died, and there have been 16 wounded.

Of course, this follows earlier today diners were eating breakfast, again in northern Iraq, outside the city of Kirkuk. Suicide car bombs ripped through a restaurant and killed at least 12 people and wounded 38 others. Among the dead was one bodyguard to the Kurdish deputy prime minister to Iraq.

And then almost 30 minutes later, as you mentioned, another suicide bomber targeted an American diplomatic convoy. That took place in the city center of Kirkuk. There, two Iraqi children were the victims and died, and 11 people were wounded.

Then about 15 minutes later, moving further south to the city of Baquba, a local government official, as well as three of his bodyguards, died when a suicide car bomber attacked his convoy.

Now, in an effort to stem the wave of bombings, the Iraqi-led Operation Lightning that we've been hearing about, involving tens of thousands of Iraqi forces and up to 7,000 U.S. troops, continues here in the capital city. It's the fifth day. Iraqi officials are claiming success in capturing hundreds of so-called insurgents, and they're also claiming success in capturing hundreds of weapons caches -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Jennifer Eccleston for us this morning in Baghdad. Jennifer, thanks -- Bill.

HEMMER: Back in this country, in the state of Virginia, police are using everything they can, helicopters, search dogs, to try and capture a dangerous killer. Three people shot to death within minutes of one another and within a three-mile stretch just outside of Richmond. Make that the south side of Richmond.

Tom Foreman is there near one of the scenes of the crime there.

Do police have a suspect, Tom?

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They don't have him yet, Bill. They think they know who he is, though.

This is the James Food Store back here. This is a popular local place, and over the past half-hour here lots of folks have been coming by here, remembering the people who worked here before this.

That on top of the building is part of what's helping police, that camera. Look at these images, exceptionally high quality surveillance photos that the police are trying to get out all over this town today, and even all over the area. They want people to look at that because they believe they know who this guy is.

He's about six feet tall, about 200 pounds, braided hair. He's got tattoos of tears on his eyes. He was wearing jeans and a white shirt. They think they know who he is, a guy with a long history of problems with the law. They're just trying to track him down now.

And when you think about what he did yesterday, unbelievable. Went up to a guy in a project a couple miles from here, killed the guy, robbed him. And in a matter of 10 minutes, came here, went into the James Store, robbed the man inside there who is of Yemeni descent, been here quite some time -- he's a father, worked here for quite some time -- yelling racial epithets at him at the time.

As soon as he was done, he just walked over here, 40 feet away, to the Polly Clean Cleaners (ph) over here, where there was a man here who is of Asian descent, who's been the owner of the place, been here quite a while. Went in, same thing, yelled racial insults, robbed the man and killed him.

HEMMER: Tom Foreman from Richmond, Virginia, this morning. Tom, thanks for hat. We'll follow it through the day here.

Here's Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, the other side of the story this morning on how former FBI official Mark Felt became Watergate's Deep Throat. In today's "Washington Post," Bob Woodward says he met Felt by accident months before he was working as a reporter.

Woodward also described contacting Felt for information on the Watergate burglary. He wrote this: "I called Felt at the FBI, reaching him through his secretary. It would be our first talk about Watergate. He reminded me how he disliked phone calls at the office, but said the Watergate burglary was going to heat up for reasons he couldn't explain. He then hung up abruptly."

Tonight, Paula Zahn interviews Robert Redford. Redford played Woodward in the movie "All the President's Men." That's at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

And then right after that, in CNN primetime, an exclusive. Larry King talks to Watergate reporters Carl Bernstein and bob Woodward. That's at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

HEMMER: It's going to be one heck of a show later tonight, too.

O'BRIEN: It sure will.

HEMMER: In a moment here, a White House filled with screaming and profanity? There's a new book out, revealing the inner workings of the Clinton White House. We'll talk to the author today.

O'BRIEN: Also, they're old enough to fight a war, but not to buy a drink. Now one lawmaker has a proposal to change that.

HEMMER: Also, this growing trend with wedding registries, couples asking their guests to help foot the bill. Practical or just plain tacky? We'll look at that in a moment here as we continue after this. Thursday morning here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Some of the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are old enough to fight for their country, but back on their home turf they're still too young to drink legally. One Wisconsin lawmaker wants to change that, so he's proposing lowering the drinking age to 19 for men and women in uniform instead of 21.

Joining us this morning, the bill's sponsor. He is state representative Mark Pettis of Hertel, Wisconsin. And Wendy Hamilton is the president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. We're going to get to Wendy in just a moment.

Let's hear, though, from Representative Pettis, if we can.

Thanks for joining us this morning. Why did you want to do this?

MARK PETTIS, WISCONSIN STATE REP.: Good morning. I just think that it's right, that we should respect these men and women that are fighting for our country and treat them as adults in all ways we can. And one of those ways would be allow them to enter a tavern or have a bar, or have a drink when they see fit to it.

O'BRIEN: But men and women can be in the military at age 17 with parental approval, 18 without. Your bill would actually limit it to age 19, so there would be plenty of men and women in the military who still would be serving and still not allowed to drink, right?

PETTIS: That's correct. We compromised and went from 17 to 19 just to take any possibilities of someone still being in school out of the equation. So that's why we went with 19.

O'BRIEN: Federal funding potentially is at risk here, isn't it? I mean, you could lose a lot of money if, in fact, you were to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18 -- or to 19, rather. Would you continue to push this legislation even if that were to happen, to lose the federal funding?

PETTIS: That would be a difficult call right now. We need that federal transportation money, and it's all dependent upon getting a waiver from the federal government or congressional action to allow Wisconsin to do this pilot program, and would do it for two years. And we can compute the data and see if it made any difference.

O'BRIEN: All right.

Let's turn to Wendy Hamilton. As we mentioned, she's the president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

You think, Wendy, that this bill is a bad idea. I know that. Why?

WENDY HAMILTON, PRESIDENT, MOTHERS AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING: Yes, it's bad public policy and it's bad health policy. We had this kind of a pilot program, if that's what you want to call it, back in the '70s and '80s when the drinking law was dropped to 18 and 19. And what we saw was a tremendous increase in alcohol-related fatalities for teen drivers.

When the Uniform Minimum Drinking Age law was passed in 1984, that ended. And we have seen tremendous numbers of lives saved. In fact, the 21st anniversary this year of the 21 Minimum Drinking Age Law, we've saved almost 21,000 lives. And that's just alcohol-related traffic crashes.

O'BRIEN: Well, you obviously heard what the representative had to say, which is these young men and women are given tremendous responsibility. I want to read a quick letter for you from a Wisconsin soldier.

HAMILTON: Sure.

O'BRIEN: He says this: "I was ticketed for underage possession of alcohol when I was 20. Ironically, this was the weekend after I completed advanced weapons training, had full knowledge, including the secret codes, of how to launch nuclear-armed cruise missiles." Here's a guy who's launching nuclear warheads potentially who can't go in a bar and have a drink?

HAMILTON: Absolutely. And we want those soldiers who have given so much of their lives to protect our country to be able to do their jobs with the best kind of equipment that they have, and that's their brain power.

We don't want them to be harming themselves in any way. They're already putting their lives on the line for us by serving in the military. They will be putting their lives on the line if they're drinking alcohol underage, also. And it's not only drunk driving, it's the other harms associated with consumption of alcohol that we're concerned about, too.

O'BRIEN: What other concerns do you have about this legislation?

HAMILTON: Well, we know that young people -- alcohol is the leading cause of death for not only traffic crashes, but suicides, homicides, assaults, sexual assaults, the violence that occurs when young people are drinking underage. I don't know that the taxpayers in Wisconsin are able to come up with the resources available for the trauma centers, for the emergency personnel response that they're going to need.

And right now we're seeing a 45 and 46 percent alcohol-related fatality rate in the state of Wisconsin. That's well above the national average. To change the drinking age for this group of individuals is just plain bad public policy.

O'BRIEN: We will see if this legislation has any legs. Wendy Hamilton, the president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, joining us this morning. And also Wisconsin state representative Mark Pettis, as well.

Thanks to both of you for joining us. Appreciate it.

PETTIS: Thank you very much.

HAMILTON: Thanks.

HEMMER: All right. Nineteen minutes past the hour now.

In a moment here, there's a new book out that goes behind the scenes looking at the Clinton White House. What new information is there? We'll tell you when we talk to the author in a moment here right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AARON BROWN, HOST, "NEWSNIGHT" (voice-over): As CNN celebrates 25 years, we remember the news stories that defined a generation.

RONALD REAGAN, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.

(APPLAUSE)

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The wall represented the divide between east and west, not just a territorial divide, but a cultural and a moral divide. There were people with sledgehammers, chisels, anything they could get their hands on.

MARK BIELLO, CNN PHOTOGRAPHER: As a CNN photographer there, we were being pushed around by the mass of crowds. We were cold, we were tired. But at the same time, you knew how important this was.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: This was, I think, one of my most memorable moment in life. To really see a historic event before your eyes and to be in Berlin and seeing it was just overwhelming.

BROWN: CNN celebrates 25 years of "Defining Moments," a CNN primetime event June 5, 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Another defining moment, Jack Cafferty, "Question of the Day."

CAFFERTY: Yes. We won't discuss what the definition is, however.

At the time Mark Felt was leaking information to "The Washington Post" as Deep Throat, he was also the number two man at the FBI. Felt was reportedly angry that President Nixon had passed him over for the top job at the bureau after J. Edgar Hoover died.

Without Felt's information The Watergate cover-up may never have been exposed. But the fact of the matter is, he was way off the reservation in leaking classified information to the news media.

The question is, as Deep Throat, was Mark Felt a hero or a villain?

Dave in Maryland writes, "Mark Felt is both a hero and a villain. He got the word out about serious corruption at the top of the U.S. government. He should have told the U.S. attorney general, not "The Washington Post."

That wouldn't have worked so well. I think Mitchell was up to his eyebrow in this thing, too.

T.M. in New York, "Felt should be commended for taking action in a situation where the system was broken. But no long-time denizen of Hoover's FBI could ever be described as a hero by anyone who cares about our civil rights."

Carol in Virginia, "No revisionist history, please. Nixon and his cronies were amoral slime balls that threatened our country. Mark Felt is a hero." Steve writes this: "I think you missed the point. If Mr. Felt had been promoted and happy with his job he would have kept silent and not leaked the information to the press. We should be thrilled that a man with such dubious character was not put in charge of a law enforcement agency."

O'BRIEN: Curious wrinkles. And I think all of your writers raised them, you know?

CAFFERTY: It's a very bright group.

HEMMER: Every day.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Jack.

Coming up this morning, a new twist on wedding registries. Some couples are saying, hey, forget the toasters, forget the china sets. Help us pay for the wedding instead. A look at a growing trend is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

HEMMER: We are watching this story out of the state of Georgia. Jennifer Wilbanks is back in court today. We showed you some video a short time ago.

Apparently, she has already pled guilty to one felony. That's making a false statement to police And she came in there with her fiance, John Mason. This in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Gwinnett County Courthouse a short time ago.

It is unclear whether or not she is still in front of the judge, but David Mattingly is down there. And we're going to bring in David in a moment here to find out what's happening inside that courtroom.

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Aired June 2, 2005 - 09:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. A thousand people forced from their homes after a landslide in California already today. Waiting word again for word of who can go home and when. A live report from Laguna Beach in a moment here.
Also, this wave of attacks overnight in Iraq. Three suicide bombings in only 45 minutes. Live to Baghdad as well.

And the real story of Deep Throat from the other man at those secret meetings. We'll examine the incredible story told by Bob Woodward in today's edition of the "Washington Post."

That's ahead 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 back, everybody.

Also ahead this morning, a new book out about the Clinton presidency.

HEMMER: The book writes about the former president's legendary temper, also talks about a significant change of personality that he underwent early during his time in office. We'll talk to the author with that book out now.

O'BRIEN: The White House to some degree is also the focus of the "Question of the Day," which is about the Nixon White House, I guess.

Good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Deep Throat, hero or villain? Was he a patriot, duty-bound to reveal malfeasance at the highest levels of this nation's government, or simply a disgruntled bureaucrat who had been passed over for the top job at the FBI and had the long knives out for the boss?

AM@CNN.com.

O'BRIEN: I love this question today. Jack, thanks.

Headlines now with Carol Costello.

Good morning again, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.

""Now in the News," a court appearance for the so-called runaway bride. Jennifer Wilbanks appearing in court in Georgia right now. We just got these pictures in. Let's take a look.

You remember Jennifer Wilbanks. She disappeared days before her wedding, then made up a story about being kidnapped. Well, she has paid the city of Duluth for their troubles some $13,000, but she is now facing criminal charges. We'll tell you what happens later today.

Her fiance, look at that, beside her. Still standing by her side. Interesting.

Lawyers in the Michael Jackson trial are set to start their closing arguments just about three hours from now. The prosecution and defense each have up to four hours to make their case. The trial could go to the jury by the end of today or tomorrow.

A leading anti-Syrian journalist has been killed in Lebanon. Police say his car exploded earlier today in a Christian area of Beirut. The man wrote for a Lebanese newspaper critical of Syria. An unidentified woman was wounded in the blast.

President Bush is promoting his Social Security reforms today in western Kentucky. The president is set to take part in a roundtable discussion in Hopkinsville, near Fort Campbell. Some 1,000 supporters are expected to attend. Mr. Bush will then stop by a GOP fund-raiser in St. Louis before he heads on to his Texas ranch for a long weekend.

And it is now down to 51. The final round of the National Spelling Bee getting under way this morning in Washington.

The competition began with more than 270 hopefuls, but many got stung by words such as kakemono and cyamonke (ph). We'll have the spelling bee champ, by the way, live on AMERICAN MORNING tomorrow.

Chad, I don't even know what those words mean.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I mean...

COSTELLO: What are you laughing? You don't either.

MYERS: I can smell mug. That's what I got right this morning, coffee mug, M-U-G. Use it in a sentence, Chad gave away a mug.

COSTELLO: The coffee part was too hard to spell for you, though.

MYERS: Right, exactly.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: We want to keep it on the West Coast right now. There are clearly word that more landslides could be coming today in southern California.

This hillside section of Laguna Beach giving way early on Wednesday. People scrambling from their beds as homes began to slide down this 50-foot slope without any warning.

After watching the video, it may be hard to believe, but there were no serious injuries yesterday in Laguna. So far, though, a thousand people have been evacuated.

Chris Lawrence back in Laguna Beach with us live this morning.

What's happening now, Chris? Good morning.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, so far 18 homes have been completely destroyed by this landslide. And depending on how the ground moves, another 11 could also be in danger.

Of all the days, it's been drizzling here, actually, for the past couple hours. And that soil can shift at any time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): Some homes cracked in half as the ground gave way. Others appeared to stay in tact, even as they slid down this hillside.

JILL LOCKHART, HOME DESTROYED IN LANDSLIDE: We ran down the front side of the mountain , and we could hear this house collapsing behind us, sinking in, and I guess the driveway moved 200 feet down as we were running down it.

LAWRENCE: And the ground could keep moving for the next few weeks.

CAPT. DANELL ADAMS, LAGUNA BEACH P.D.: I certainly encourage people, one, to leave the area, and, two, to stay out of the area.

LAWRENCE: Vera Martinez doesn't have a choice.

VERA MARTINEZ, EVACUATED FROM HOME: My house is right above there.

LAWRENCE: Her home has been red tagged, which means it could collapse at any time. And the frightening this is, if that happens, she's got no insurance coverage.

MARTINEZ: What angers me, is that there is no company that will offer any kind of landslide insurance.

LAWRENCE: Insurance companies won't cover mudslides, which fall under so-called "acts of God." Laguna's been dry for the past month, but this winter dumped more than 28 inches of rain, twice what the town sees in a normal year. Geologists say that water never drained, and slowly destabilized the soil.

MARTINEZ: It's about Mother Nature saying, you know, pay attention to me a little bit more, don't build here; don't build here.

LAWRENCE: But people have and always will, because someone will always want to wake up to this view. Here's what this hillside looked like before the landslide. And here is what it looks like now. Laguna Beach has some prime ocean- front property, but sometimes it comes at an incredible price.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: Laguna Beach has been declared a local disaster area. And some residents blame not only the weather but the housing boom. They say there's just too many big homes being built on these hills.

Now, last night, scientists placed measurement devices around the effected areas. They will be checking those today to see how much the ground has moved -- Bill.

HEMMER: Chris Lawrence, thanks, in Laguna.

In about 30 minutes, we'll get the latest on what's happening there in the security situation from the captain of Laguna Beach Police Department. We'll have that at the half-hour -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: To Iraq now, where three suicide car bombs killed 16 people, wounded 53, all within 45 minutes today. A new word of a deadly drive-by shooting as well.

Jennifer Eccleston is live for us in Baghdad in morning.

Jennifer, who was targeted in these attacks?

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's mostly targeting officials. I -- whether it's Iraqi government officials or American coalition officials, what we saw today was seemingly coordinated attacks. Yet another example of the violence, Soledad, that shattered large parts of this country.

We are getting word in now that nine people have been killed in a drive-by shooting at a busy market here in Baghdad, in northwest Baghdad. We're also getting some word from Iraqi officials of an explosion, that a motorcycle rigged with explosives detonated in the center of Mosul.

That's also in northern Iraq. That happened a short while ago. Iraqi officials telling CNN that there was one Iraqi policeman so far who died, and there have been 16 wounded.

Of course, this follows earlier today diners were eating breakfast, again in northern Iraq, outside the city of Kirkuk. Suicide car bombs ripped through a restaurant and killed at least 12 people and wounded 38 others. Among the dead was one bodyguard to the Kurdish deputy prime minister to Iraq.

And then almost 30 minutes later, as you mentioned, another suicide bomber targeted an American diplomatic convoy. That took place in the city center of Kirkuk. There, two Iraqi children were the victims and died, and 11 people were wounded.

Then about 15 minutes later, moving further south to the city of Baquba, a local government official, as well as three of his bodyguards, died when a suicide car bomber attacked his convoy.

Now, in an effort to stem the wave of bombings, the Iraqi-led Operation Lightning that we've been hearing about, involving tens of thousands of Iraqi forces and up to 7,000 U.S. troops, continues here in the capital city. It's the fifth day. Iraqi officials are claiming success in capturing hundreds of so-called insurgents, and they're also claiming success in capturing hundreds of weapons caches -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Jennifer Eccleston for us this morning in Baghdad. Jennifer, thanks -- Bill.

HEMMER: Back in this country, in the state of Virginia, police are using everything they can, helicopters, search dogs, to try and capture a dangerous killer. Three people shot to death within minutes of one another and within a three-mile stretch just outside of Richmond. Make that the south side of Richmond.

Tom Foreman is there near one of the scenes of the crime there.

Do police have a suspect, Tom?

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They don't have him yet, Bill. They think they know who he is, though.

This is the James Food Store back here. This is a popular local place, and over the past half-hour here lots of folks have been coming by here, remembering the people who worked here before this.

That on top of the building is part of what's helping police, that camera. Look at these images, exceptionally high quality surveillance photos that the police are trying to get out all over this town today, and even all over the area. They want people to look at that because they believe they know who this guy is.

He's about six feet tall, about 200 pounds, braided hair. He's got tattoos of tears on his eyes. He was wearing jeans and a white shirt. They think they know who he is, a guy with a long history of problems with the law. They're just trying to track him down now.

And when you think about what he did yesterday, unbelievable. Went up to a guy in a project a couple miles from here, killed the guy, robbed him. And in a matter of 10 minutes, came here, went into the James Store, robbed the man inside there who is of Yemeni descent, been here quite some time -- he's a father, worked here for quite some time -- yelling racial epithets at him at the time.

As soon as he was done, he just walked over here, 40 feet away, to the Polly Clean Cleaners (ph) over here, where there was a man here who is of Asian descent, who's been the owner of the place, been here quite a while. Went in, same thing, yelled racial insults, robbed the man and killed him.

HEMMER: Tom Foreman from Richmond, Virginia, this morning. Tom, thanks for hat. We'll follow it through the day here.

Here's Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, the other side of the story this morning on how former FBI official Mark Felt became Watergate's Deep Throat. In today's "Washington Post," Bob Woodward says he met Felt by accident months before he was working as a reporter.

Woodward also described contacting Felt for information on the Watergate burglary. He wrote this: "I called Felt at the FBI, reaching him through his secretary. It would be our first talk about Watergate. He reminded me how he disliked phone calls at the office, but said the Watergate burglary was going to heat up for reasons he couldn't explain. He then hung up abruptly."

Tonight, Paula Zahn interviews Robert Redford. Redford played Woodward in the movie "All the President's Men." That's at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

And then right after that, in CNN primetime, an exclusive. Larry King talks to Watergate reporters Carl Bernstein and bob Woodward. That's at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

HEMMER: It's going to be one heck of a show later tonight, too.

O'BRIEN: It sure will.

HEMMER: In a moment here, a White House filled with screaming and profanity? There's a new book out, revealing the inner workings of the Clinton White House. We'll talk to the author today.

O'BRIEN: Also, they're old enough to fight a war, but not to buy a drink. Now one lawmaker has a proposal to change that.

HEMMER: Also, this growing trend with wedding registries, couples asking their guests to help foot the bill. Practical or just plain tacky? We'll look at that in a moment here as we continue after this. Thursday morning here on AMERICAN MORNING.

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O'BRIEN: Some of the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are old enough to fight for their country, but back on their home turf they're still too young to drink legally. One Wisconsin lawmaker wants to change that, so he's proposing lowering the drinking age to 19 for men and women in uniform instead of 21.

Joining us this morning, the bill's sponsor. He is state representative Mark Pettis of Hertel, Wisconsin. And Wendy Hamilton is the president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. We're going to get to Wendy in just a moment.

Let's hear, though, from Representative Pettis, if we can.

Thanks for joining us this morning. Why did you want to do this?

MARK PETTIS, WISCONSIN STATE REP.: Good morning. I just think that it's right, that we should respect these men and women that are fighting for our country and treat them as adults in all ways we can. And one of those ways would be allow them to enter a tavern or have a bar, or have a drink when they see fit to it.

O'BRIEN: But men and women can be in the military at age 17 with parental approval, 18 without. Your bill would actually limit it to age 19, so there would be plenty of men and women in the military who still would be serving and still not allowed to drink, right?

PETTIS: That's correct. We compromised and went from 17 to 19 just to take any possibilities of someone still being in school out of the equation. So that's why we went with 19.

O'BRIEN: Federal funding potentially is at risk here, isn't it? I mean, you could lose a lot of money if, in fact, you were to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18 -- or to 19, rather. Would you continue to push this legislation even if that were to happen, to lose the federal funding?

PETTIS: That would be a difficult call right now. We need that federal transportation money, and it's all dependent upon getting a waiver from the federal government or congressional action to allow Wisconsin to do this pilot program, and would do it for two years. And we can compute the data and see if it made any difference.

O'BRIEN: All right.

Let's turn to Wendy Hamilton. As we mentioned, she's the president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

You think, Wendy, that this bill is a bad idea. I know that. Why?

WENDY HAMILTON, PRESIDENT, MOTHERS AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING: Yes, it's bad public policy and it's bad health policy. We had this kind of a pilot program, if that's what you want to call it, back in the '70s and '80s when the drinking law was dropped to 18 and 19. And what we saw was a tremendous increase in alcohol-related fatalities for teen drivers.

When the Uniform Minimum Drinking Age law was passed in 1984, that ended. And we have seen tremendous numbers of lives saved. In fact, the 21st anniversary this year of the 21 Minimum Drinking Age Law, we've saved almost 21,000 lives. And that's just alcohol-related traffic crashes.

O'BRIEN: Well, you obviously heard what the representative had to say, which is these young men and women are given tremendous responsibility. I want to read a quick letter for you from a Wisconsin soldier.

HAMILTON: Sure.

O'BRIEN: He says this: "I was ticketed for underage possession of alcohol when I was 20. Ironically, this was the weekend after I completed advanced weapons training, had full knowledge, including the secret codes, of how to launch nuclear-armed cruise missiles." Here's a guy who's launching nuclear warheads potentially who can't go in a bar and have a drink?

HAMILTON: Absolutely. And we want those soldiers who have given so much of their lives to protect our country to be able to do their jobs with the best kind of equipment that they have, and that's their brain power.

We don't want them to be harming themselves in any way. They're already putting their lives on the line for us by serving in the military. They will be putting their lives on the line if they're drinking alcohol underage, also. And it's not only drunk driving, it's the other harms associated with consumption of alcohol that we're concerned about, too.

O'BRIEN: What other concerns do you have about this legislation?

HAMILTON: Well, we know that young people -- alcohol is the leading cause of death for not only traffic crashes, but suicides, homicides, assaults, sexual assaults, the violence that occurs when young people are drinking underage. I don't know that the taxpayers in Wisconsin are able to come up with the resources available for the trauma centers, for the emergency personnel response that they're going to need.

And right now we're seeing a 45 and 46 percent alcohol-related fatality rate in the state of Wisconsin. That's well above the national average. To change the drinking age for this group of individuals is just plain bad public policy.

O'BRIEN: We will see if this legislation has any legs. Wendy Hamilton, the president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, joining us this morning. And also Wisconsin state representative Mark Pettis, as well.

Thanks to both of you for joining us. Appreciate it.

PETTIS: Thank you very much.

HAMILTON: Thanks.

HEMMER: All right. Nineteen minutes past the hour now.

In a moment here, there's a new book out that goes behind the scenes looking at the Clinton White House. What new information is there? We'll tell you when we talk to the author in a moment here right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AARON BROWN, HOST, "NEWSNIGHT" (voice-over): As CNN celebrates 25 years, we remember the news stories that defined a generation.

RONALD REAGAN, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.

(APPLAUSE)

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The wall represented the divide between east and west, not just a territorial divide, but a cultural and a moral divide. There were people with sledgehammers, chisels, anything they could get their hands on.

MARK BIELLO, CNN PHOTOGRAPHER: As a CNN photographer there, we were being pushed around by the mass of crowds. We were cold, we were tired. But at the same time, you knew how important this was.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: This was, I think, one of my most memorable moment in life. To really see a historic event before your eyes and to be in Berlin and seeing it was just overwhelming.

BROWN: CNN celebrates 25 years of "Defining Moments," a CNN primetime event June 5, 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Another defining moment, Jack Cafferty, "Question of the Day."

CAFFERTY: Yes. We won't discuss what the definition is, however.

At the time Mark Felt was leaking information to "The Washington Post" as Deep Throat, he was also the number two man at the FBI. Felt was reportedly angry that President Nixon had passed him over for the top job at the bureau after J. Edgar Hoover died.

Without Felt's information The Watergate cover-up may never have been exposed. But the fact of the matter is, he was way off the reservation in leaking classified information to the news media.

The question is, as Deep Throat, was Mark Felt a hero or a villain?

Dave in Maryland writes, "Mark Felt is both a hero and a villain. He got the word out about serious corruption at the top of the U.S. government. He should have told the U.S. attorney general, not "The Washington Post."

That wouldn't have worked so well. I think Mitchell was up to his eyebrow in this thing, too.

T.M. in New York, "Felt should be commended for taking action in a situation where the system was broken. But no long-time denizen of Hoover's FBI could ever be described as a hero by anyone who cares about our civil rights."

Carol in Virginia, "No revisionist history, please. Nixon and his cronies were amoral slime balls that threatened our country. Mark Felt is a hero." Steve writes this: "I think you missed the point. If Mr. Felt had been promoted and happy with his job he would have kept silent and not leaked the information to the press. We should be thrilled that a man with such dubious character was not put in charge of a law enforcement agency."

O'BRIEN: Curious wrinkles. And I think all of your writers raised them, you know?

CAFFERTY: It's a very bright group.

HEMMER: Every day.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Jack.

Coming up this morning, a new twist on wedding registries. Some couples are saying, hey, forget the toasters, forget the china sets. Help us pay for the wedding instead. A look at a growing trend is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

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O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

HEMMER: We are watching this story out of the state of Georgia. Jennifer Wilbanks is back in court today. We showed you some video a short time ago.

Apparently, she has already pled guilty to one felony. That's making a false statement to police And she came in there with her fiance, John Mason. This in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Gwinnett County Courthouse a short time ago.

It is unclear whether or not she is still in front of the judge, but David Mattingly is down there. And we're going to bring in David in a moment here to find out what's happening inside that courtroom.

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