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American Morning

American Troops Launch Offensive in Northern Iraqi Desert;

Aired June 07, 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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Soledad O'Brien. Only on CNN, American troops launch an offensive in the northern Iraqi desert, trying to flush out insurgents in a notorious hotspot. A live report inside the fight for Iraq coming up.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Jack Cafferty. For the first time in three years, murder and violent crime rates are down across this country. We'll look at what's behind the decline.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also powerful storms ripping through the Northeast, bringing heavy rains, flooding, and plenty of damage, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Nothing better than a long weekend. Good morning, everyone. Good to have you along with us today.

O'BRIEN: New developments to talk about in Aruba today.

HEMMER: Certainly are. That's where we begin this morning. Police in Aruba say the two men they have in custody are not cooperating. This in the case of a missing high school student from Alabama. A Judge is expected to rule today whether or not the two security guards -- one of them seen here -- can continue to be legally held by police.

Now 18-year-old Natalee Holloway was last seen a bit more than a week ago, leaving a nightclub in Aruba with three men. She was visiting that tiny Caribbean island with classmates on a senior trip. And on Monday, the Aruban government gave 4,000 employees a half day off work to help in that search.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Paul Reynolds is Natalee Holloway's uncle. He joins me now from Palm Beach, in Aruba.

Sir, what did you learn about these two men being held for questioning?

PAUL, REYNOLDS, NATALEE HOLLOWAY'S UNCLE: We don't have a lot of information from the individuals. We're relying on the authorities to complete their investigation. We're waiting to hear, just like everyone else, what those results are.

HEMMER: Paul, will you and the rest of Natalee's family be in court today?

REYNOLDS: We have not decided that yet.

HEMMER: You were among hundreds searching yesterday in a certain part of Aruba. Did that search turn up much for you?

REYNOLDS: I believe there was some piece of evidence that they may have found. The search was an extraordinary event. The government allowed the employees to leave early yesterday in order to assist with the search. There were hundreds of searchers, busloads of people involved. The people were searching, the military, helicopters, four-wheelers, an amazing outpouring of support.

HEMMER: You mentioned something there in your answer. Can you speak today, Paul, of any new leads?

REYNOLDS: We don't have any information of that nature yet.

HEMMER: So at this point there are no new leads. Is that what you're saying?

REYNOLDS: Not that we're aware of. But we're confident the police are following every lead available.

HEMMER: How are you and the rest of the family holding up?

REYNOLDS: We're doing well. It's an overwhelming outpouring of support and concern from the island, everyone in the States, the authorities. It's an amazing series of events, and we're just touched as to how Natalee has reached people's lives.

HEMMER: I'm certain of that.

One more thing, back to these two men being held for questioning, and that comes down to the issue as to whether or not you believe they had anything to do with her disappearance. Do you believe that?

REYNOLDS: We're not speculating. We're confident the authorities will complete the investigation. We're awaiting to hear their conclusions and results.

HEMMER: Paul, my best to you and the family down there. Paul Reynolds, my guest from Aruba. Thank you, sir, and good luck -- Soledad.

REYNOLDS: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Jurors in the Michael Jackson child-molestation trial will resume deliberations in just about four and a half hours. Members of the jury arrived by van on Monday at the Santa Maria courthouse, escorted by security vehicles. It was their first full day of deliberations, and the day was not without drama. Jackson's father, Joe Jackson, arrived at the courthouse demanding to see his son. He pushed his way through the media. But Michael wasn't there. In fact, he doesn't have to be until a verdict is reached. He was at his ranch, Neverland, just about an hour away. Coming up in our next half hour, we're going to talk with defense attorney Anne Bremner. She's been standing by at the courthouse -- Bill.

HEMMER: Overseas now, Soledad. There's been a coordinated series of suicide car bombs today in Iraq. Four bombs went off in a period of about seven minutes in the area around Kirkuk. At least six Iraqi soldiers killed, a dozen other people injured there.

To the south in Baghdad, another car bomb aimed at a police patrol, injuring about 28 people in that incident.

Now U.S. and Iraqi troops launching a major counter-insurgent strike again today. The target is near the town of Tal Afar. That's near the Syrian border, northwestern Iraq.

Jane Arraf is embedded with the U.S. military in the area live by videophone in a report you can only see here on CNN.

Jane, how many suspected insurgents have been detained so far there?

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, they tell us they've detained at least 28. We saw some taken away blindfolded, and at least 23 were on their target list, which is a significant distinction, as opposed to rounding up suspects who they may not have been looking for. This was a major operation, Bill, just before dawn. And as the sun rose in a rare daytime operation, tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles rolled through those narrow streets in the most dangerous neighborhood of Tal Afar. They came under some gunfire, as well as mortar attack.

In the end, one U.S. soldier was killed in this operation. Four suspected insurgents as well.

The aim of the operation, according to military officials, was to present a show of force, to disrupt the insurgency, and to show Iraqis, who have been living in fear in that neighborhood, that the Iraqi army is out, and is a viable force as well -- Bill.

HEMMER: Jane, what does this town look like after this insurgency was launched?

ARRAF: Bill, as we left it, it was still very, very quiet. People were still in their homes.

Now as the morning wore on and the gunfire flew, the bullets flew around us, you couldn't see a single person. They very sensibly were staying indoors. The army was going door to door in some neighborhoods, breaking down doors, searching houses, searching to see if there were insurgents there. It takes a while after something like that for people to come out again, and that had not happened yet -- Bill.

HEMMER: Understandably so. The crackdown continues. Jane Arraf, embedded with the U.S. military by videophone, northwestern Iraq -- Soledad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, fallout from the Supreme Court's ruling on medical marijuana. We're going to be joined by one of the most outspoken advocates, Montel Williams.

HEMMER: Also the relationship between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President George Bush now being put to the test. Live from Washington and live from London for a preview of an important meeting taking place today.

O'BRIEN: And the writings of Pope John Paul II that the world was never supposed to see. Are they secrets too precious to destroy? A look at that a little later on AMERICAN MORNING.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Patient itself smoking pot for pain can be arrested by federal drug agents. The Supreme Court on Monday decided a government ban on medical marijuana trumps state laws that allow it. Those are fighting words to talk show host Montel Williams. He's devoted, really, his life to protecting medical marijuana users, like himself, from prosecution.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MONTEL WILLIAMS, HOST, "THE MONTEL WILLIAMS SHOW": Recently I have been diagnosed with MS.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Since his diagnosis in 1999, talk show host Montel Williams says he's tried Percocet, Vicodin, Oxycontin and other drugs to ease his chronic pain from multiple sclerosis. But marijuana, he says, is the only one that allows him to live a normal life.

WILLIAMS: Today's show is about an issue that I will tell you that is extremely close to my heart.

O'BRIEN: Currently 10 states permit marijuana use with a doctor's approval. In Arizona, a similar law, but no formal distribution program in place.

WILLIAMS: Marijuana is an illegal drug. There is no ifs, ands or buts. We know it as a fact. But is it also a promising medical treatment?

O'BRIEN: Montel Williams has been crusading to protect medicinal marijuana patients from arrest. Last month he went to the Capitol to deliver a message to lawmakers, that fighting for your life shouldn't be a crime.

WILLIAMS: It still hurts.

O'BRIEN: But the message yesterday a ruling from the nation's highest court appeared to be more about power than pain.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: The Supreme Court's decision wasn't about medical marijuana. It was, who decides whether medical marijuana is legal or not. The Supreme Court said it's the United States government, not the state's.

O'BRIEN (on camera): Montel Williams joins us. Nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us.

WILLIAMS: Thanks for having me.

O'BRIEN: You have chronic pain from multiple sclerosis. Can you describe it for me what it's like?

WILLIAMS: I've been suffering from multiple sclerosis probably for over 20 years diagnosed for the last five, and in the last five years, I've developed what is called neurolgic (ph) pain from my shins down. More on my left side than my right. And it's literally -- it's undescribable, as you can get to it. But if I took a fire poker and stuck it in a fire for 20 minutes and stick it up in your heel and just start screwing it around in your shin, I feel that 24 hours a day.

Depending on how I get pain relief, I can lessen that from a 10 to six to a four. But I'm in pain now, while I'm sitting here.

The bottom line is, the decision that was made yesterday really, really is confusing, I think, to this nation, confusing to me.

O'BRIEN: It is confusing.

Then let's talk more about the decision. What's changed...

WILLIAMS: Nothing.

O'BRIEN: .... from the day before yesterday?

WILLIAMS: Nothing has changed. This is exactly what the federal government has had the right to do all along. They can bust anybody for using a drug they claim to be illegal.

But the difference is that this Supreme Court made this decision yesterday, but a year ago it upheld a decision that said that doctors could recommend marijuana for use, and that the states could not prosecutor persecute them for that. So doctors can still prescribe it and recommend it, but then the feds can step in and bust you, and the states can still pass laws to allow medicinal marijuana to be used.

O'BRIEN: So can you be prosecuted for -- how often do you smoke pot?

WILLIAMS: I don't necessarily smoke. See, this is the problem. Everybody's caught up in the '60s memory of their own use. Let's start talking about this, too.

O'BRIEN: All right, I was young in the '60s. WILLIAMS: But I mean, not just you, but everybody. I mean, the president, he said it himself, he used it, OK. But the truth is, you can eat it, you can drink it. And I use it every single day. I am a taxpayer of this country. I spent 26 in the -- 22 years in the military supporting and defending this Constitution of the United States. And right now, our Constitution is being stepped on by this decision.

O'BRIEN: All right, so can you be arrested for using medical marijuana?

WILLIAMS: Of course. Of course.

O'BRIEN: And you always could?

WILLIAMS: Of course. All along.

O'BRIEN: Could your doctor?

WILLIAMS: No. My doctor couldn't be arrested because the Supreme Court said last year that a doctor can recommend the use of marijuana to its patients. This is what's so crazy. And what's even more crazy, Soledad, is that right now, on the 17th of this month, the United States of America, with a USDA stamp of approval on it, will send marijuana out from the University of Mississippi to seven patients in this country, and of course because I'm bringing it up today, they're going to try to stop the program and bring more pain to some more people.

O'BRIEN: That's a research program that's been going on for a long time.

WILLIAMS: For 25 years. If these people haven't studied this in 25 years with our taxpayer program, everybody on this program should have been fired.

O'BRIEN: So you don't seem to feel like this is a devastating loss, this Supreme Court decision?

WILLIAMS: No, because the state of New York, the state that I live in, Senator Libell (ph) put forth a bill, and I understand because of pressure, I guess, he has now backed out of this bill. But I'm going to tell him the state of New York can still vote. Every single poll that comes up around this country says 74 percent of the people in America want their loved ones who are in pain to have access to the medication that a doctor can recommend. There's two ways to fix this.

One, Congress can change the bill. Two, the DEA can change the status from a schedule I drug to schedule II. Put it in the same category as cocaine. Allow a doctor to prescribe it.

O'BRIEN: So legally, what's the implication with that?

WILLIAMS: A doctor can prescribe it, then our government can do what we pay them to do to control it. That's their responsibility. O'BRIEN: Do you think that's ever going to happen?

WILLIAMS: No, because we have ignorant people out here who just don't understand. Even the Supreme Court justices themselves yesterday stated in his decision that they know that marijuana is -- the efficacy of marijuana as a pain reliever and also for certain diseases. They know it as a fact, and they have now suggested that we go to Congress and do something about it.

So guess what? We're going to Congress, because you know what, it's time. The American public has spoken. You know, I'm sick and tired of the fact that we're all rolling over and playing dead in society now as if it is politically incorrect to state your case.

O'BRIEN: You're going back to Congress. Montel Williams.

WILLIAMS: Let's go to Congress.

O'BRIEN: Thanks for talking with us.

WILLIAMS: You got it.

O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.

WILLIAMS: Thanks.

O'BRIEN: You're welcome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: In our final hour at 9:00 Eastern Time, we're going to talk with Angel Raisch (ph), a medical marijuana user who was involved in that Supreme Court case -- Bill.

HEMMER: In a moment here, what can brown do for you? How about contributing to the biggest I.D. security breach reported to date. It's a fact. Andy's "Minding Your Business." He has details on that next here on AMERICAN MORNING, right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: All right, welcome back. Apparently it's happened again.

UPS losing a very important shipment from Citigroup, putting millions at risk for security fraud. That's tops our "Minding Your Business" segment right now with Andy Serwer, checking in now.

Again, huh, UPS?

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: This is a massive case of stolen and lost identity. The world's largest financial institution, Citigroup, announcing yesterday a box of computer tapes containing information on 3.9 million customers was lost by UPS on the way from the bank to a credit bureau, Experian, in Allen, Texas. Here are the facts: May 2nd, the tapes were picked up. May 20th, they figured out the tapes never made it to Allen, Texas. It contained names, Social Security, payment histories of customers who took out loans from the bank, and Citigroup has said now it has begun to send out letters to these customers in question. And of course, no word on exactly how significant this breach is in terms of stolen identities. And we're just going to have to wait and see.

UPS is suggesting that when you talk to Experian, which is the credit bureau, that increasingly financial institutions are sending this kind of information via the Internet, or private networks, encrypted, rather than actual physical tapes, if you think about that.

HEMMER: I got to think Citigroup has pickups, what, daily with the amount of customers they have?

SERWER: Yes, you would think so. It's an anachronistic way of doing it, so you know, they've really got to take a look here and see that this is a situation they've got to really update.

HEMMER: The point you make is that this was two and a half weeks before they even reported the darn things missing.

SERWER: Yes, I mean, this is a situation that is out of control, no question.

HEMMER: Thank you, Andy.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: They hand a boxful of computer tapes containing sensitive information on 3.5 million people to a truck driver and say, have a nice day.

SERWER: He was supposed to scan it, and just the whole thing, just a mess.

O'BRIEN: Who can play those tapes, though?

SERWER: Well, these particular tapes actually, you need a mainframe computer and some expertise. They said an ordinary dumpster driver couldn't access the information, but a sophisticated person could.

HEMMER: Certainly could. And if they're looking to pick up some cash, you could pay the money and get it.

CAFFERTY: Isn't that the same way they lost our identities, handed them over to some truck drive at Swiss cheese mountain or whatever.

SERWER: Right, and they fired that guy.

CAFFERTY: They fired the truck driver?

SERWER: They fired the truck driver in that previous case.

CAFFERTY: We didn't get the stuff back, but the truck driver is now -- maybe he went to work at UPS.

SERWER: A lot of people have a double whammy. You work for Time Warner. You have a Citigroup account. I mean, who many times is this going to happen to one person.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Question of the Day?

CAFFERTY: Has nothing to do with identity theft, Soledad.

After increasing in each of the last three years, murder and violent crime rates are down last year. Murder rates down significantly 3.6 percent, violent crime, which is defined as murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, declined almost two percent. The sharpest drops in the country's largest cities and in rural areas.

According to figures released by the FBI, murders were down 7.1 percent in cities with populations over one million, and 12.2 percent in towns of fewer than 10,000. Criminal justice experts surprised by these numbers considering gang-related activity is increasing and law enforcement budgets are being cut.

So the question for you to cogitate on this morning is this, what's behind the decline in violent crime?

O'BRIEN: Do you have a theory on it?

CAFFERTY: Yes, all the violent criminals have found there is more money in stealing identities than committing rapes and robberies. They're knocking over UPS trucks and stealing computer tapes.

HEMMER: We got it. It's solved. And we did it at 7:23.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Jack.

HEMMER: For the first time, Mark Geragos, the defense attorney from California, talking about the Scott Peterson case. He did it last night here on CNN. Peterson was given the death penalty back in March for killing his wife, Laci, and the couple's unborn baby.

Geragos talked exclusively with our own Larry King.

Here's last night:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK GERAGOS, DEFENSE ATTY.: He has been, throughout all of this, I think, enormously resilient and one of the things, you know, without breaching confidentiality because he's said it to others and not just to me, but he said, look, after my family was killed, the fact that they're blaming me for it, it pales in comparison with losing Laci and Connor. So as I indicated before, either the guy is the greatest sociopath of all time, or he's innocent.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HEMMER: Scott Peterson is currently on death row in California San Quentin State Prison. On Monday, Sharon Rocha announced she would write a book about her daughter called "For Laci." That's scheduled for release sometime in December.

A bit later here, the Michael Jackson jury goes back into deliberations today. No quick decision on this case yet, but does that say anything about Jackson's fate?

Back here in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired June 7, 2005 - 07:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Soledad O'Brien. Only on CNN, American troops launch an offensive in the northern Iraqi desert, trying to flush out insurgents in a notorious hotspot. A live report inside the fight for Iraq coming up.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Jack Cafferty. For the first time in three years, murder and violent crime rates are down across this country. We'll look at what's behind the decline.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also powerful storms ripping through the Northeast, bringing heavy rains, flooding, and plenty of damage, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Nothing better than a long weekend. Good morning, everyone. Good to have you along with us today.

O'BRIEN: New developments to talk about in Aruba today.

HEMMER: Certainly are. That's where we begin this morning. Police in Aruba say the two men they have in custody are not cooperating. This in the case of a missing high school student from Alabama. A Judge is expected to rule today whether or not the two security guards -- one of them seen here -- can continue to be legally held by police.

Now 18-year-old Natalee Holloway was last seen a bit more than a week ago, leaving a nightclub in Aruba with three men. She was visiting that tiny Caribbean island with classmates on a senior trip. And on Monday, the Aruban government gave 4,000 employees a half day off work to help in that search.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Paul Reynolds is Natalee Holloway's uncle. He joins me now from Palm Beach, in Aruba.

Sir, what did you learn about these two men being held for questioning?

PAUL, REYNOLDS, NATALEE HOLLOWAY'S UNCLE: We don't have a lot of information from the individuals. We're relying on the authorities to complete their investigation. We're waiting to hear, just like everyone else, what those results are.

HEMMER: Paul, will you and the rest of Natalee's family be in court today?

REYNOLDS: We have not decided that yet.

HEMMER: You were among hundreds searching yesterday in a certain part of Aruba. Did that search turn up much for you?

REYNOLDS: I believe there was some piece of evidence that they may have found. The search was an extraordinary event. The government allowed the employees to leave early yesterday in order to assist with the search. There were hundreds of searchers, busloads of people involved. The people were searching, the military, helicopters, four-wheelers, an amazing outpouring of support.

HEMMER: You mentioned something there in your answer. Can you speak today, Paul, of any new leads?

REYNOLDS: We don't have any information of that nature yet.

HEMMER: So at this point there are no new leads. Is that what you're saying?

REYNOLDS: Not that we're aware of. But we're confident the police are following every lead available.

HEMMER: How are you and the rest of the family holding up?

REYNOLDS: We're doing well. It's an overwhelming outpouring of support and concern from the island, everyone in the States, the authorities. It's an amazing series of events, and we're just touched as to how Natalee has reached people's lives.

HEMMER: I'm certain of that.

One more thing, back to these two men being held for questioning, and that comes down to the issue as to whether or not you believe they had anything to do with her disappearance. Do you believe that?

REYNOLDS: We're not speculating. We're confident the authorities will complete the investigation. We're awaiting to hear their conclusions and results.

HEMMER: Paul, my best to you and the family down there. Paul Reynolds, my guest from Aruba. Thank you, sir, and good luck -- Soledad.

REYNOLDS: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Jurors in the Michael Jackson child-molestation trial will resume deliberations in just about four and a half hours. Members of the jury arrived by van on Monday at the Santa Maria courthouse, escorted by security vehicles. It was their first full day of deliberations, and the day was not without drama. Jackson's father, Joe Jackson, arrived at the courthouse demanding to see his son. He pushed his way through the media. But Michael wasn't there. In fact, he doesn't have to be until a verdict is reached. He was at his ranch, Neverland, just about an hour away. Coming up in our next half hour, we're going to talk with defense attorney Anne Bremner. She's been standing by at the courthouse -- Bill.

HEMMER: Overseas now, Soledad. There's been a coordinated series of suicide car bombs today in Iraq. Four bombs went off in a period of about seven minutes in the area around Kirkuk. At least six Iraqi soldiers killed, a dozen other people injured there.

To the south in Baghdad, another car bomb aimed at a police patrol, injuring about 28 people in that incident.

Now U.S. and Iraqi troops launching a major counter-insurgent strike again today. The target is near the town of Tal Afar. That's near the Syrian border, northwestern Iraq.

Jane Arraf is embedded with the U.S. military in the area live by videophone in a report you can only see here on CNN.

Jane, how many suspected insurgents have been detained so far there?

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, they tell us they've detained at least 28. We saw some taken away blindfolded, and at least 23 were on their target list, which is a significant distinction, as opposed to rounding up suspects who they may not have been looking for. This was a major operation, Bill, just before dawn. And as the sun rose in a rare daytime operation, tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles rolled through those narrow streets in the most dangerous neighborhood of Tal Afar. They came under some gunfire, as well as mortar attack.

In the end, one U.S. soldier was killed in this operation. Four suspected insurgents as well.

The aim of the operation, according to military officials, was to present a show of force, to disrupt the insurgency, and to show Iraqis, who have been living in fear in that neighborhood, that the Iraqi army is out, and is a viable force as well -- Bill.

HEMMER: Jane, what does this town look like after this insurgency was launched?

ARRAF: Bill, as we left it, it was still very, very quiet. People were still in their homes.

Now as the morning wore on and the gunfire flew, the bullets flew around us, you couldn't see a single person. They very sensibly were staying indoors. The army was going door to door in some neighborhoods, breaking down doors, searching houses, searching to see if there were insurgents there. It takes a while after something like that for people to come out again, and that had not happened yet -- Bill.

HEMMER: Understandably so. The crackdown continues. Jane Arraf, embedded with the U.S. military by videophone, northwestern Iraq -- Soledad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, fallout from the Supreme Court's ruling on medical marijuana. We're going to be joined by one of the most outspoken advocates, Montel Williams.

HEMMER: Also the relationship between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President George Bush now being put to the test. Live from Washington and live from London for a preview of an important meeting taking place today.

O'BRIEN: And the writings of Pope John Paul II that the world was never supposed to see. Are they secrets too precious to destroy? A look at that a little later on AMERICAN MORNING.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Patient itself smoking pot for pain can be arrested by federal drug agents. The Supreme Court on Monday decided a government ban on medical marijuana trumps state laws that allow it. Those are fighting words to talk show host Montel Williams. He's devoted, really, his life to protecting medical marijuana users, like himself, from prosecution.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MONTEL WILLIAMS, HOST, "THE MONTEL WILLIAMS SHOW": Recently I have been diagnosed with MS.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Since his diagnosis in 1999, talk show host Montel Williams says he's tried Percocet, Vicodin, Oxycontin and other drugs to ease his chronic pain from multiple sclerosis. But marijuana, he says, is the only one that allows him to live a normal life.

WILLIAMS: Today's show is about an issue that I will tell you that is extremely close to my heart.

O'BRIEN: Currently 10 states permit marijuana use with a doctor's approval. In Arizona, a similar law, but no formal distribution program in place.

WILLIAMS: Marijuana is an illegal drug. There is no ifs, ands or buts. We know it as a fact. But is it also a promising medical treatment?

O'BRIEN: Montel Williams has been crusading to protect medicinal marijuana patients from arrest. Last month he went to the Capitol to deliver a message to lawmakers, that fighting for your life shouldn't be a crime.

WILLIAMS: It still hurts.

O'BRIEN: But the message yesterday a ruling from the nation's highest court appeared to be more about power than pain.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: The Supreme Court's decision wasn't about medical marijuana. It was, who decides whether medical marijuana is legal or not. The Supreme Court said it's the United States government, not the state's.

O'BRIEN (on camera): Montel Williams joins us. Nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us.

WILLIAMS: Thanks for having me.

O'BRIEN: You have chronic pain from multiple sclerosis. Can you describe it for me what it's like?

WILLIAMS: I've been suffering from multiple sclerosis probably for over 20 years diagnosed for the last five, and in the last five years, I've developed what is called neurolgic (ph) pain from my shins down. More on my left side than my right. And it's literally -- it's undescribable, as you can get to it. But if I took a fire poker and stuck it in a fire for 20 minutes and stick it up in your heel and just start screwing it around in your shin, I feel that 24 hours a day.

Depending on how I get pain relief, I can lessen that from a 10 to six to a four. But I'm in pain now, while I'm sitting here.

The bottom line is, the decision that was made yesterday really, really is confusing, I think, to this nation, confusing to me.

O'BRIEN: It is confusing.

Then let's talk more about the decision. What's changed...

WILLIAMS: Nothing.

O'BRIEN: .... from the day before yesterday?

WILLIAMS: Nothing has changed. This is exactly what the federal government has had the right to do all along. They can bust anybody for using a drug they claim to be illegal.

But the difference is that this Supreme Court made this decision yesterday, but a year ago it upheld a decision that said that doctors could recommend marijuana for use, and that the states could not prosecutor persecute them for that. So doctors can still prescribe it and recommend it, but then the feds can step in and bust you, and the states can still pass laws to allow medicinal marijuana to be used.

O'BRIEN: So can you be prosecuted for -- how often do you smoke pot?

WILLIAMS: I don't necessarily smoke. See, this is the problem. Everybody's caught up in the '60s memory of their own use. Let's start talking about this, too.

O'BRIEN: All right, I was young in the '60s. WILLIAMS: But I mean, not just you, but everybody. I mean, the president, he said it himself, he used it, OK. But the truth is, you can eat it, you can drink it. And I use it every single day. I am a taxpayer of this country. I spent 26 in the -- 22 years in the military supporting and defending this Constitution of the United States. And right now, our Constitution is being stepped on by this decision.

O'BRIEN: All right, so can you be arrested for using medical marijuana?

WILLIAMS: Of course. Of course.

O'BRIEN: And you always could?

WILLIAMS: Of course. All along.

O'BRIEN: Could your doctor?

WILLIAMS: No. My doctor couldn't be arrested because the Supreme Court said last year that a doctor can recommend the use of marijuana to its patients. This is what's so crazy. And what's even more crazy, Soledad, is that right now, on the 17th of this month, the United States of America, with a USDA stamp of approval on it, will send marijuana out from the University of Mississippi to seven patients in this country, and of course because I'm bringing it up today, they're going to try to stop the program and bring more pain to some more people.

O'BRIEN: That's a research program that's been going on for a long time.

WILLIAMS: For 25 years. If these people haven't studied this in 25 years with our taxpayer program, everybody on this program should have been fired.

O'BRIEN: So you don't seem to feel like this is a devastating loss, this Supreme Court decision?

WILLIAMS: No, because the state of New York, the state that I live in, Senator Libell (ph) put forth a bill, and I understand because of pressure, I guess, he has now backed out of this bill. But I'm going to tell him the state of New York can still vote. Every single poll that comes up around this country says 74 percent of the people in America want their loved ones who are in pain to have access to the medication that a doctor can recommend. There's two ways to fix this.

One, Congress can change the bill. Two, the DEA can change the status from a schedule I drug to schedule II. Put it in the same category as cocaine. Allow a doctor to prescribe it.

O'BRIEN: So legally, what's the implication with that?

WILLIAMS: A doctor can prescribe it, then our government can do what we pay them to do to control it. That's their responsibility. O'BRIEN: Do you think that's ever going to happen?

WILLIAMS: No, because we have ignorant people out here who just don't understand. Even the Supreme Court justices themselves yesterday stated in his decision that they know that marijuana is -- the efficacy of marijuana as a pain reliever and also for certain diseases. They know it as a fact, and they have now suggested that we go to Congress and do something about it.

So guess what? We're going to Congress, because you know what, it's time. The American public has spoken. You know, I'm sick and tired of the fact that we're all rolling over and playing dead in society now as if it is politically incorrect to state your case.

O'BRIEN: You're going back to Congress. Montel Williams.

WILLIAMS: Let's go to Congress.

O'BRIEN: Thanks for talking with us.

WILLIAMS: You got it.

O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.

WILLIAMS: Thanks.

O'BRIEN: You're welcome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: In our final hour at 9:00 Eastern Time, we're going to talk with Angel Raisch (ph), a medical marijuana user who was involved in that Supreme Court case -- Bill.

HEMMER: In a moment here, what can brown do for you? How about contributing to the biggest I.D. security breach reported to date. It's a fact. Andy's "Minding Your Business." He has details on that next here on AMERICAN MORNING, right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: All right, welcome back. Apparently it's happened again.

UPS losing a very important shipment from Citigroup, putting millions at risk for security fraud. That's tops our "Minding Your Business" segment right now with Andy Serwer, checking in now.

Again, huh, UPS?

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: This is a massive case of stolen and lost identity. The world's largest financial institution, Citigroup, announcing yesterday a box of computer tapes containing information on 3.9 million customers was lost by UPS on the way from the bank to a credit bureau, Experian, in Allen, Texas. Here are the facts: May 2nd, the tapes were picked up. May 20th, they figured out the tapes never made it to Allen, Texas. It contained names, Social Security, payment histories of customers who took out loans from the bank, and Citigroup has said now it has begun to send out letters to these customers in question. And of course, no word on exactly how significant this breach is in terms of stolen identities. And we're just going to have to wait and see.

UPS is suggesting that when you talk to Experian, which is the credit bureau, that increasingly financial institutions are sending this kind of information via the Internet, or private networks, encrypted, rather than actual physical tapes, if you think about that.

HEMMER: I got to think Citigroup has pickups, what, daily with the amount of customers they have?

SERWER: Yes, you would think so. It's an anachronistic way of doing it, so you know, they've really got to take a look here and see that this is a situation they've got to really update.

HEMMER: The point you make is that this was two and a half weeks before they even reported the darn things missing.

SERWER: Yes, I mean, this is a situation that is out of control, no question.

HEMMER: Thank you, Andy.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: They hand a boxful of computer tapes containing sensitive information on 3.5 million people to a truck driver and say, have a nice day.

SERWER: He was supposed to scan it, and just the whole thing, just a mess.

O'BRIEN: Who can play those tapes, though?

SERWER: Well, these particular tapes actually, you need a mainframe computer and some expertise. They said an ordinary dumpster driver couldn't access the information, but a sophisticated person could.

HEMMER: Certainly could. And if they're looking to pick up some cash, you could pay the money and get it.

CAFFERTY: Isn't that the same way they lost our identities, handed them over to some truck drive at Swiss cheese mountain or whatever.

SERWER: Right, and they fired that guy.

CAFFERTY: They fired the truck driver?

SERWER: They fired the truck driver in that previous case.

CAFFERTY: We didn't get the stuff back, but the truck driver is now -- maybe he went to work at UPS.

SERWER: A lot of people have a double whammy. You work for Time Warner. You have a Citigroup account. I mean, who many times is this going to happen to one person.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Question of the Day?

CAFFERTY: Has nothing to do with identity theft, Soledad.

After increasing in each of the last three years, murder and violent crime rates are down last year. Murder rates down significantly 3.6 percent, violent crime, which is defined as murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, declined almost two percent. The sharpest drops in the country's largest cities and in rural areas.

According to figures released by the FBI, murders were down 7.1 percent in cities with populations over one million, and 12.2 percent in towns of fewer than 10,000. Criminal justice experts surprised by these numbers considering gang-related activity is increasing and law enforcement budgets are being cut.

So the question for you to cogitate on this morning is this, what's behind the decline in violent crime?

O'BRIEN: Do you have a theory on it?

CAFFERTY: Yes, all the violent criminals have found there is more money in stealing identities than committing rapes and robberies. They're knocking over UPS trucks and stealing computer tapes.

HEMMER: We got it. It's solved. And we did it at 7:23.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Jack.

HEMMER: For the first time, Mark Geragos, the defense attorney from California, talking about the Scott Peterson case. He did it last night here on CNN. Peterson was given the death penalty back in March for killing his wife, Laci, and the couple's unborn baby.

Geragos talked exclusively with our own Larry King.

Here's last night:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK GERAGOS, DEFENSE ATTY.: He has been, throughout all of this, I think, enormously resilient and one of the things, you know, without breaching confidentiality because he's said it to others and not just to me, but he said, look, after my family was killed, the fact that they're blaming me for it, it pales in comparison with losing Laci and Connor. So as I indicated before, either the guy is the greatest sociopath of all time, or he's innocent.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HEMMER: Scott Peterson is currently on death row in California San Quentin State Prison. On Monday, Sharon Rocha announced she would write a book about her daughter called "For Laci." That's scheduled for release sometime in December.

A bit later here, the Michael Jackson jury goes back into deliberations today. No quick decision on this case yet, but does that say anything about Jackson's fate?

Back here in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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