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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Tropical Storm Arlene; Counter Terrorism Center; Syrian Activities in Lebanon; North Korean Weapons; Bush at CTC; Aruba Search Continues; GM Layoffs and Politics
Aired June 10, 2005 - 17:00 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.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, a satellite view of a dangerous storm. It's not a hurricane yet, but it's already a killer. We'll tell you what to expect from Arlene.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): Insurgents unmasked. Are these foreign fighters really foreigners? We'll show you where the suicide bombers come from.
Hit list. Are Syrian agents back in Lebanon to carry out assassinations? A White House warning.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to follow up on these troubling reports.
MALVEAUX: Arlene eyes the Gulf coast.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're thinking no, no, this is not going to happen again. It just can't. You know, we just can't go through this again.
MALVEAUX: Are Florida residents in for a repeat of last year's deadly storm season?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Friday, June 10, 2005.
MALVEAUX: I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Thanks for joining us. Wolf is off today.
From mortar attack to mystery, could U.S. officers have been deliberately attacked by fellow Americans? The Army has begun a criminal investigation into the deaths of two officers this week at a base in Iraq. And the case is taking on eerie echoes of what was once a common problem for another war a generation ago.
We begin our coverage with senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie?
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, the U.S. military is investigating the possibility that two U.S. Army officers might have been murdered in a so-called fragging incident this week in Iraq. Fragging refers to troops deliberately killing officers, and it's extremely rare in the U.S. military.
And the investigation is just now getting way into the incident which occurred Tuesday night about 10 o'clock at night at what the U.S. military calls Forward Operating Base Danger near Tikrit, north of Baghdad. Two officers were killed after an explosion inside the base, the company commander and the operations officer for the Army National Guard headquarters company.
According to a statement issued by Multi-National Corps Iraq, the initial investigation, it says, indicated that a mortar round struck the window on the side of the building where the two officers were, but, quote, "upon further examination of the scene by explosive ordinance personnel, it was determined the blast pattern was inconsistent with a mortar attack."
Now, sources tell CNN that investigators found evidence that was consistent with an ordinance or munition used routinely by the U.S. military and other indications that a crime had been committed.
That said, they haven't reached any conclusions yet. In fact, they have no suspects. Other possibilities are that an infiltrator or an intruder got into the base and set off the device. Or it could have been some kind of an accident, although they say at this point that doesn't look likely.
The two officers who were killed were identified as Captain Phillip Esposito and First Lieutenant Louis Allen, both of the New York National Guard -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Jamie, thank you very much for that report.
Also, five U.S. marines have been killed in a roadside bombing in western Iraq. That word from the U.S. military, which says the incident happened yesterday during combat operations in the Anbar province. Today, seven U.S. soldiers were wounded when a suicide car bomber attacked their patrol in the northern city of Mosul.
As the violence rages on, there is new information about the origins of some of the most diehard insurgents. CNN's Jennifer Eccleston reports from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This tape is an insurgent testimonial. Abdul Rachman Sala al-Rahami (ph) came to Iraq to die in the jihad.
"I came here to fight against the infidels, the invaders of Iraq," he says. His target, a police station in Karbala, one of four suicide car bomb attacks that day. The act forever marking him a martyr.
Stories like al-Rahami's (ph) are extolled on Web sites run by radical Islamists, where Iraq martyrdom is hailed as an inspiration for a new generation of terrorists. In fact, recent independent studies on Iraqi insurgents say the face of the vast majority of suicide bombers is, indeed, from outside Iraq.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Most of these suicide bombings are being done by foreigners. Many of them are Saudis. You know, there's also been some indications that there are even a number of Europeans have tried to be involved in suicide attacks.
ECCLESTON: In one count, of the 154 suicide bomber death notices posted on Islamic Web sites since August, 61 percent were Saudi, and just 25 percent were Kuwaiti, Syrian and Iraqi, many believe connected to the terror network of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
But pinpointing a precise number of foreign jihadists is an ongoing challenge to U.S. and Iraqi officials. The military's rough estimate is anywhere from 5 to 10 percent of the insurgency.
One senior American military official provided CNN with a nationality snapshot of fighters captured during the Baghdad anti- insurgency push, Operation Lightning. Of the 1,000 people netted, 50 were not Iraqis, most from Sudan, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
Failed suicide attackers, like Saudi Ahmed Abdullah al-Shia (ph) provide the best intelligence to coalition forces. An unabashed jihadists, al-Shia said his first task as an insurgent was to deliver a gasoline tanker truck in central Baghdad. He says he didn't know it was a bomb.
Al-Shia (ph) cooperated with authorities, handed over names of foreign insurgents, but insisted the majority of anti-coalition fighters were Iraqi.
(on-screen): Still, terror analysts maintain that the number of non-Iraqi fighters is disproportionate to their impact. They're believed to conduct the bloodiest attacks, work hardest to incite sectarian violence, and that makes them a deadly percentage of the Iraqi insurgency.
Jennifer Eccleston, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And the U.S. military says an American soldier and seven insurgents were killed today in southeastern Afghanistan. Three Americans were wounded. The casualties came when the insurgents ambushed a joint patrol of coalition and Afghan forces in the Paktika province near the Pakistani border. The military says aircraft and artillery were called in to respond to the attack.
A senior State Department official tells CNN that the U.S. has, quote, "credible information that Syrian military intelligence forces are returning to Lebanon" and that Syrian agents have plans to assassinate top Lebanese politicians. President Bush today warned that the U.S. is watching closely. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our message to Syria -- and it's not just the message of the United States, the United Nations has said the same thing -- is that, in order for Lebanon to be free, is for Syria to not only remove her military, but to remove intelligence officers, as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: But in Damascus today, denials. Our senior international correspondent Brent Sadler is in the Syrian capital.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENT SADLER, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Syria reacted angrily to U.S. claims the regime in Damascus is attempting to destabilize neighboring Lebanon, now in the midst of key parliamentary elections, denying any involvement in political violence, that included bomb attacks and assassinations.
The White House, though, expresses deep concern that Syrian intelligence operatives are creating a climate of fear in Lebanon where opposition political parties hope to win control of parliament by defeating pro-Syrian MPs at the ballot box.
Two leading opposition figures, Saad Hariri, the son of assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and Druze leader Walid Junblat say they have been forced to curtail travel, fearing their lives are in danger.
And the U.S. is taking seriously further allegations based on reports from Lebanon that Syria has drawn up a hit list of potential targets aimed at decapitating opposition, allegations flatly rejected by officials here, who claim Syria has fully complied with U.N. demands to withdraw all military and intelligence efforts from Lebanon.
BUTHINA SHABBAN, SYRIAN BAATH PARTY CONGRESS: Syria never had a history of hit list. There's only one party in the region who has hit list and who throw bombs and shells on people, and who put car bombs against Palestinians, against Lebanese and Lebanon, and against Palestinians and Syria. And Israel acknowledged doing that.
It is not the history of Syria. I think they should look somewhere else, unless they want to take these as a pretext to target Syria.
SADLER: A United Nations verification team recently confirmed a Syrian troop withdrawal from Lebanon, but was less certain about possible intelligence activities there, given its shadowy nature. But secretary general of the U.N., Kofi Annan, says he's considering the possibility of sending his teams back in the wake of claims Syria may be trying to reenergize intelligence activity there, claims officials here vigorous deny, saying it would be tantamount to Syria shooting itself in the foot. Brent Sadler, CNN, Damascus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And this programming note, the Syrian ambassador to the United States, Imad Moustapha, will be a guest on "LATE EDITION" this weekend. That's Sunday at noon Eastern.
Tropical Storm Arlene gaining strength as it enters the Gulf of Mexico. Live pictures from the Florida coast. Could it become the season's first hurricane? We'll have a new forecast just released.
And day six and counting. Live pictures of the courthouse in Santa Maria, California, where jurors are deliberating the fate of Michael Jackson. Will a verdict be reached before the weekend begins?
And vacation nightmare. Natalee Holloway is not the first young woman to disappear from the Aruba area. Hear from another American family missing their daughter.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: The first tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season has crossed through Cuba and is heading for the United States. Tropical Storm Arlene actually was good news for Cuban farmers, bringing rain to a region that had been suffering from a long drought. But Arlene is growing stronger as it moves towards the U.S. gulf coast, which still has grim memories of last year's hurricane season.
NASA has just released new satellite pictures of Arlene. The latest report puts the storm in the Gulf of Mexico, about 335 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, moving just west of due north at about 17 miles-an-hour. Maximum sustained winds are clocked near 65 miles-an-hour.
As we mentioned, the National Hurricane Center has just put a new forecast for Arlene. Meteorologist Jill Brown is standing by in the CNN Weather Center with late details and an up-to-the-minute forecast.
Jill, what do you have?
JILL BROWN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right, Suzanne, this is the 5 o'clock update. Next one comes at 8 o'clock, by the way, so we'll get more information then.
But right now, 65 mile-per-hour winds. That's up from the last report at 2 o'clock where it was 60 mile-per-hour winds. So it's gaining gradual strength, moving to the north at 17 miles-an-hour.
It's moving a little more quickly, and that's probably not all bad news. If we keep it moving, those areas that get rain won't last as long. However, it is going to give you less time to prepare. It looks like this may make landfall by Saturday afternoon, as opposed to Saturday evening. So it's moving along at a pretty good pace.
Pressure's 997, that's the same. As it gets stronger, we'll likely see the pressure go down and the winds go up. And again, it's not going to be -- we're not expecting a whole lot of strengthening.
About 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon, perhaps, for landfall, still is a strong tropical storm, but not a hurricane. Could that change? Definitely possible. And then once it moves inland, we'll see it dissipate, of course. Once a tropical system moves in over land, it has no fuel to keep it going.
So in the meantime, a lot of rain. We have this tornado watch until 11 o'clock for southern parts of Florida. We have had some tornado warnings. None recently, but that's a threat. Heavy rain, tornadoes, and then, of course, tomorrow, up the road apiece there along the Florida panhandle over to about Mobile, maybe New Orleans, will be the areas we'll be watching.
Suzanne, back to you.
MALVEAUX: OK, thank you very much, Jill.
And ahead of the storm, rain and squalls are already hitting Florida. Governor Jeb Bush has signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency. CNN's John Zarrella joins us from Haulover Beach in Miami.
John, what is it looking like so far?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, I can tell you right now, one of those squall lines that you just mentioned has just started moving through here again right now. This is what we've been experiencing all day here.
Now, the storm is several hundred miles away from us in the Gulf of Mexico, but its long reach, those counter-clockwise bands, the circulation, the feeder bands, as they call them, pulling in that moisture off the Atlantic Ocean. And it has been like this, rain, and wind, and squalls here all day.
Now, over in the west coast, if this storm has done anything, it's gotten people in part of the hurricane belt, as we call it, to start preparing, to get moving. People in the Fort Myers area were stocking up at stores today in preparation, not so much for Arlene but for the season in general.
And all across the southeastern Florida shoreline, the waves have been kicking up tremendously today. Serious rip current issues and undertow. In fact, down on South Beach early this morning, one woman became the first victim of Tropical Storm Arlene, at least an indirect victim. That woman was out in the water when a rip current got her.
Another woman went in to try and save her. Both of them got caught. It took fire rescue 20 minutes to get the two ladies out of the water. The first woman was pronounced dead. Her lungs had filled with water.
So again, you can see we're in the middle, Suzanne, of one of these squalls that comes through here. And keep in mind, we're a couple of hundred miles away from the storm. And yet, we're experiencing this kind of weather -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: And John, we're looking at pictures now, of course, of people in the water. Why are they in the water? I mean, we assume that they have gotten those warnings.
ZARRELLA: Well, you know, the bottom line is, a lot of people just don't have any common sense. That's part of it. The other part is, the surfers have been out here all day, and the lifeguards have been standing there keeping an eye on them. But they just flat-out can't keep them out of the water.
There had to be a couple dozen of them out here all day. And again, a lot of people, you know, just not enough common sense out there sometimes -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Well, John, stay dry and be safe. We'll check in with you in a bit.
Korea concerns. The president of the South discusses nukes in the North at the White House, where not everyone sees eye-to-eye.
Also, tension mounting at the Michael Jackson trial. We're live at the courthouse on verdict watch.
Plus, only on CNN, we'll hear from the mother of one of the men being held in that missing student mystery in Aruba.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: CNN "Security Watch." Concerns about North Korea's nuclear program were dominating talk at the White House today where President Bush met with South Korea's president. Both leaders admitting they're not in total agreement on how to best deal with Pyongyang.
CNN's White House correspondent Dana Bash joins with us details. Dana, what was the highlight today?
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, one of the interesting moments, Suzanne, was when President Bush tried to show that he understands the nuance in dealing with North Korea. He referred to its leader as Mr. Kim Jong Il, a sign of respect.
But in talking about his discussion with his guest, the South Korean president, he thanked him for his, quote, "frank assessment." That's diplo-speak for some differences.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice-over): In the Oval Office with South Korea's president, a show of unity to paper over differences on an urgent goal, ridding North Korea of nuclear weapons.
BUSH: The president and I both agree the six-party talks are essential to saying to Mr. Kim Jong Il that he ought to give up his weapons. BASH: President Roh said disputes between their two countries on how approach Pyongyang are overblown, but amid the carefully scripted harmony, some candor.
ROH MOO-HYUN, PRESIDENT OF SOUTH KOREA (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): To be sure, there are one or two minor issues, but I'm also quite certain that we will be able to work them out very smoothly through dialogue.
BASH: North Korea has refused to negotiate for a year, all the while, U.S. officials fear, advancing its nuclear program. Though Pyongyang signaled earlier in the week it is ready to come back to the table, no date has been set. And the enigmatic regime is yet again sending mixed signals.
Ahead of this meeting, North Korea's official newspaper called the U.S. policy "hostile" and "a stumbling block towards settlement." The president refuses to offer new inducements, but does have a year- old offer on the table for energy and security, only if Pyongyang halts all nuclear development first.
BUSH: And the plan is still there, and it's full of inducements.
BASH: Mr. Bush will not deal one-on-one with North Korea, instead calling joint pressure from neighbors more effective. But South Korea and China, both key players in the six-party talks, have softened their policies toward North Korea and wish the Bush White House would be more open to compromise.
WENDY SHERMAN, FORMER NORTH KOREAN NEGOTIATOR: South Koreans are frustrated. They, after all, are the country that shares a border with North Korea, Pyongyang and the DMZ, actually, where North Korean troops are forward-deployed. A million, we think, North Korean troops are really only 30 kilometers from Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: That may be exactly why South Korea is weary of any U.S. threats that may rattle its mysterious neighbor, like suggesting sanctions through the United Nations if diplomacy doesn't work soon -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Thanks a lot, Dana, for the latest on that from the White House.
This weekend, CNN women are back "ON THE STORY." We'll discuss concerns, myself included, on North Korea's nuclear ambitions. Jane Arraf has an exclusive look at the hunt for insurgents in Iraq. And Kathleen Hays brings us warnings on the overheated housing market.
Is a new report on the safety of U.S. milk supply a blueprint for terrorism? Jeanne Meserve has that story.
And a medical breakthrough. Elizabeth Cohen tells us how donated ovarian tissue helped a woman become pregnant. That's all "ON THE STORY," Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. Now, before meeting with the South Korean president, Mr. Bush visited the new high-tech center built to prevent another 9/11. Our David Ensor of the CNN America Bureau is here with the details.
A very top secret place, but, of course, you got an inside look.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN AMERICA BUREAU CORRESPONDENT: Well, a brief one, Suzanne. It was a first look for the president and a brief look for us, as well, at a new intelligence facility that just opened only recently.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR (voice-over): The president got a firsthand look at the new National Counterterrorism Center in Virginia, a state-of-the-art intelligence facility designed to fuse information from the CIA, FBI, Homeland Security, and elsewhere into one in order to stop terrorists. It was set up after the 9/11 attacks showed that federal agencies were withholding key intelligence from each other.
BUSH: I appreciate the fact that here you pool your expertise and your computer systems, all aimed at shining the spotlight on enemies who think they can hide in the shadows of the world.
ENSOR: The president used the occasion to lobby Congress to extend expiring provisions of the Patriot Act, a post-9/11 law permitting wider U.S. government access to intrusively collected information on citizens in order to try to stop terrorists.
BUSH: For the sake of our national security, the United States Congress needs to renew all the provisions of the Patriot Act. And this time, Congress needs to make those provisions permanent.
ENSOR: Bush cited a number of cases, including the Lackawanna Six, where he said the Patriot Act had been key in putting would-be terrorists behind bars.
The president's appearance came as a report from the Department of Justice inspector general outlined five opportunities missed by the FBI and other agencies to stop two of the 9/11 hijackers. The report gave fuel to critics who questioned whether the FBI is doing a good job of taking on the domestic counterterrorism intelligence task on top of its law enforcement duties. Some charge the new analysts are still seen by FBI agents as second-class citizens.
JOHN GANNON, FORMER DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE CNCL: I still continue to believe within FBI, if you are not an agent, you are furniture.
MAUREEN BAGINSKI, FBI INTELLIGENCE DIRECTORATE: I don't think that that's fair. And what I have seen since I've been here, actually, is analysts pulled in to every core operational discussion and, in many cases, leading those operational discussions.
(END VIDEOTAPE) ENSOR: There has not been a major terrorist attack on this country since 9/11, something the administration can point to as it argues everything possible is being done. Senior intelligence officials repeatedly warn, though, that it's not a question of whether there will be another attack, it's only a question of when -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: David, thank you very much for that important report. Of course, stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
And now this just in. The jury in the Michael Jackson case has finished deliberations for the day with no verdict reached. You're seeing live pictures of the Santa Maria courthouse. And I will speak with criminal defense lawyer Robert Shapiro on what a prolonged deliberation could mean.
Missing in Aruba. The teenage son of an Aruban judge held in connection with Natalee Holloway's disappearance. Hear from the young man's mother, an interview you'll only see on CNN.
Bus crash, 25 children injured, some seriously. We'll have an update on the situation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: And welcome back. Live pictures from the Santa Maria courthouse where the jury has just gone home for the weekend from deliberating the case against Michael Jackson. We will have a live report. But first, a quick check of other stories now in the news.
Tense moments today in rural Yermo, California northeast of Los Angeles. Authorities evacuated a 1.5 mile area after an alarm sounded aboard a freight train carrying a rocket mortar for a Trident D5 missile. Navy and explosive ordnance teams were dispatched to the area, but officials determined the rocket had not been tampered with.
As many as 25 children were hurt today, five of them seriously, when a tractor-trailer slammed into a school bus on the Florida Turnpike in Boca Raton. The bus was carrying children of migrant workers to a summer camp outing. Police say some of the children were ejected from the bus.
Jurors in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial wrapped up their sixth day of deliberations just moments ago. The eight man, four-woman jury got the case a week ago today. Our Ted Rowlands has been following developments from inside the courtroom.
Ted, what is the latest? What happened here?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Suzanne, there was a lot of speculation. It's Friday. Are we going to get a verdict? Not the case.
As you mentioned, jurors left here a few moments ago, their sixth day of work on the Jackson case. Inside the courtroom, we don't know what has happened. We haven't gotten any updates from the jurors. They asked a question once last Friday, but nothing since. So, as to their progress, we just don't know.
Meanwhile, outside the courtroom, Jackson supporters and other protesters have been camped out here and holding vigil waiting patiently for a verdict. At Neverland Ranch, Michael Jackson is said to be waiting patiently, as well, with family and friends. There are a few protesters camped out outside Neverland Ranch, as well.
When a verdict does come down, and it will have to be next week at some point, Jackson will have one hour to make it here to the courthouse until that verdict is read.
Six days, still no verdict. Everybody's still waiting to hear Michael Jackson's fate -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Ted Rowlands, thank you very much.
Now here now to offer some legal insight into the Jackson trial and a continuing jury deliberations is renowned criminal defense attorney Robert Shapiro.
Robert, thank you so much for joining us. As we know, we all know you very, very well from the O.J. Simpson case. And you defended O.J. Simpson.
It took that jury really just hours before they came back with a no guilty verdict. What is going on here? What do you think is happening inside that jury room?
ROBERT SHAPIRO, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You can't compare, Suzanne, one case with another case. In the Jackson case, it's a very, very complicated verdict form that the jurors have to fill out. Not only are there ten charges, but within those charges, on the conspiracy, there are 28 different overt acts that have to be voted upon. And within the other charges, there's seven or eight sub charges, what we call enhancements, that the jury has to make a decision on.
So I don't find six days of deliberation in a case of this magnitude where there's a hundred pages of jury instructions to be surprising.
MALVEAUX: Bob, do you think that it give us any kind of insight to what the jurors are thinking? Perhaps there is a lone juror that's holding out, or do you think that they are just going through this rather complex case? What do you think they are actually dealing with if they look at all of those ten charges?
SHAPIRO: I think you probably have better luck if you cut open a tea bag and tried to make some sense out of what the tea leaves meant. There's no way to speculate what a jury is doing at this point in time. And those who do, I think are probably all going to be wrong. Jurors generally come up with things that no one else is thinking about. And they focus on issues that become more important to them than to other people who happen to be watching or critiquing what's taking place.
So I don't read anything whatsoever into the length of the time of the jury deliberations, what they're wearing when they come in, what day of the week it is, or anything else. This jury seems to be extremely deliberate. They know they have a case with enormous consequences attached to it, should a conviction be rendered. And I think they are doing the job that we would expect of our jurors.
MALVEAUX: So bottom line, you don't see this either as a good sign for the prosecution or the defense after six days?
SHAPIRO: Every time that I've been in court, and I've done hundreds of these trials Suzanne, everybody tries to speculate. The jurors walked in with their heads up, they walked in with their heads down. They were smiling, they were laughing. None of that means anything whatsoever.
When the foreman comes out and hands that verdict to the judge, everybody will have their hearts beating at a very, very rapid pace until the clerk reads that verdict.
MALVEAUX: And you've been in the situation many times sitting with your clients, I'm sure, during those very tense, very nervous moments. What is the client, generally, the defendant going through at that time? Are they nervous? Are they resigned? Generally speaking, what is the state of mind during that waiting period?
SHAPIRO: You know what I would compare it to? I'd compare it to somebody who goes to a doctor and is diagnosed with the symptoms of a terminal disease, and they are awaiting the results of a biopsy. It has to be the most tense moment of anyone's life. And I don't care whether it's a minor charge or a capital murder case, everyone I've ever represented has sweaty palms, has heart palpitations and has anxiety. And that also goes for the lawyers.
MALVEAUX: And if you are Tom Mesereau now, if you could put yourself in his shoes, what would you be telling Jackson?
SHAPIRO: That we did the best we could. That we put on everything we wanted to put on before the jury. And that we're going to be hopeful that the jury believes what we said and that they find that there is reasonable doubt as to the validity of these charges.
MALVEAUX: Do you think that there's going to be a conviction either way of serious charges, lesser charges, if I know you're reading tea leaves but go ahead, read them.
SHAPIRO: From what I've viewed of this case, Suzanne, you have a little boy who testified at the beginning of the trial and then he was the very last witness who testified on a tape, on a videotape. And there was no cross-examination.
So this jury started out with the little boy's accusations and ended with those accusations. And there has been no witness to contradict that. So the defense's theory that the mother made the boy do this and it's all made up is something that the jury will consider, but it's not one of those cases that everybody says he said, she said. This is the little boy and no contradiction whatsoever. Only speculation as to why he may have not been truthful. MALVEAUX: Well, very serious charges, and we thank you very much for your time. We know you're following this, as well. And we'll see how it develops next week. Bob Shapiro, thank you very much for your insights.
SHAPIRO: You're welcome.
MALVEAUX: Thank you.
And this week, we told you about Tommy Hook, an auditor at the Los Alamos National Nuclear Laboratory who was beaten outside a strip club in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At the time, Hook and his wife blamed the attack on thugs who wanted to stop him from testifying before Congress about alleged financial irregularities at the lab.
Now, Santa Fe police are disputing that. They say Hook got into a fight after his car struck a pedestrian outside the club. And it was completely unrelated to Los Alamos. A friend says Hook does stand by his original statement.
Missing teen mystery: New details about the men in custody in connection with the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway. Agonizing search: the Alabama teen isn't the first American to disappear from the Aruba area. Our Brian Todd has the story of another young woman missing for seven years.
And later, are unions set to make a comeback? Our Carlos Watson has the "Inside Edge."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: The search continues for Natalee Holloway, the 18- year-old Alabama high school student, who has been missing in Aruba since May 30th.
CNN's Karl Penhaul is there with the story -- Karl?
PENHAUL: Suzanne, investigators say there's still no evidence as to the whereabouts of Natalee Holloway. No idea whether she's alive or dead, but police have continued to interrogate the three suspects arrested yesterday. Among them, a minor by the name of Juran van der Sloot. We managed to talk to his mother, Anita, today. This is what she had to say about her son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANITA VAN DER SLOOT, JURAN VAN DER SLOOT'S MOTHER: He was not upset. He understood the police. He was quiet. He was open. He helped the police as much as possible. He was willing to speak to the parents. He was willing to help with anything. And he had a kind of quietness over --and he said mom, "don't be upset, because everything will be fine. I know I'm innocent. I didn't do anything." You know, in an very almost naive way he was very open with us. Told us everything what happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PENHAUL: Search and rescue teams have also continued to search parts of the island, but they have been telling us they're at a loss of which new areas to begin to search. They've searched most of the public areas on the island -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Karl Penhaul, thank you, very much, for that report.
Now, the Holloway case is bringing up painful memories for another American family whose own vacation in paradise turned into a nightmare. That continues seven years later.
CNN's Brian Todd is here with their story. Very troubling, Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Suzanne, along with those painful memories, comes an opportunity for these two Virginia parents who are trying to keep their daughter's case in the public eye.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): Iva Bradley says her first thought when she saw news coverage of Natalee Holloway's disappearance, "God help her parents." Bradley's daughter, Amy, was also on vacation, had just been to Aruba, and was heading to the nearby island of Curacao. That's when Amy Bradley vanished. It happened seven years ago.
RON BRADLEY, MISSING WOMAN'S FATHER: No one should have to go through what we've been through in the last seven years. And I know that Natalee's family is going through the same thing. You have so many thoughts and things that come to your mind, and it just doesn't leave you.
TODD: Ron Bradley last saw his then 23-year-old daughter at dawn on March 24th, 1998, lying on a lounge chair on the balcony of the family's room on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. The vessel had either just docked or was about to dock in Curacao. Ron Bradley says he slipped back to sleep, but when he woke up about 30 minutes later, Amy was gone.
The family says the ship's crew promised a thorough search, but didn't check the entire vessel. That the staff refused to make an immediate public address announcement about the disappearance, and then let passengers disembark against the family's request. FBI agents interviewed witnesses on the ship, but have no authority on Curacao. FBI officials tell CNN the case remains open, but there are no new leads.
The family believes Amy was kidnapped from the ship that day, and has been held in servitude.
IVA BRADLEY, MISSING GIRL'S MOTHER: We're doing these pieces so that we can get some -- get Amy's face back out in the public, because we know that somebody knows something.
TODD: But there are questions about what the Bradley's know. The family claims crew members on the Royal Caribbean ship were hitting on their daughter during the voyage, and that a waiter approached the parents on board while the ship was docked in Aruba, and asked if he could take Amy to a bar. The family says Amy refused. Contacted by CNN, Royal Caribbean would not respond directly to those allegations, or the Bradley's charges about the crew's conduct after Amy's disappearance.
But Royal Caribbean did refer us to a court order from 2000, when a lawsuit the family had filed against the cruise line was thrown out. The order says the Bradleys committed fraud against the court by not disclosing more than 100 reports they'd gotten of people seeing their daughter, in Curacao, after her disappearance.
Many of those witnesses, according to the court order, never mentioned Amy being under any duress. Ron Bradley denies committing fraud. Court documents indicate the Bradleys held back that information out of concern that revealing it could endanger their daughter. The judge didn't accept that explanation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: Authorities on Curacao tell CNN they found no evidence that Amy jumped or fell off that ship. The family says there was not acrimony at the time, nothing to make Amy want to leave on her own. But seven years into this case, the only person who may have the definitive answer would now be 31 years old --Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Brian, we wish the very best for that family. Thanks for that report.
Now, of course, coming up, a sign of decline. What the major job cuts announced by General Motors means for the future of unions.
And our Carlos Watson has the "Inside Edge."
And of course, tornado touchdown: twisters on the ground in Kansas. Dramatic video ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Well, when General Motors announced big layoffs this week, that was a business decision, but it may have an impact on politics, too. CNN political analyst Carlos Watson is here to explain why in his "Inside Edge." He joins us from Mountain View, California. Carlos, always good to see you, and of course, when we're looking at this story, it seems as if there might be a renaissance that is taking place with the unions. We've heard a lot of job talk. What is going on in terms of the power of labor?
CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you know, when you hear that General Motors is cutting 25,000 jobs, Suzanne, it sounds like yet another sign of the decline of big labor. In fact, next month, you'll probably hear a fairly big announcement that the AFL- CIO, the largest union organization, that several of its largest sub- unions are likely to leave, meaning that 50-year-old confederation may actually disband. But in a strange way, breaking up and breaking in maybe into smaller confederations of labor unions actually could lead to a renaissance. You could have smaller, more potent, more nimble unions who actually may try some different political strategies. What do I mean when I say that? I mean not just giving money to candidates or providing ground troops, but maybe participating in terms of writing more op-eds, being involved in the media, actually being involved in more local and state races, and frankly, supporting more aggressive candidates than you've seen some in big labor do.
In some ways, it's a little bit like Ma Bell. Remember when Ma Bell broke up 20, 25 years ago...
MALVEAUX: Right, right.
WATSON: ... the Baby Bells ended up coming back stronger. AT&T is now a footnote. And you might see something very analogous happen here in the union world.
So stay tuned next month when the AFL-CIO meets for their annual convention. You may hear something very significant in terms of a possible renaissance going forward.
MALVEAUX: And I know you've been looking at another engine, perhaps, Republican political engine that is, Ken Mehlman, who is in charge of the committee of the party. Tell us what is going on there? I know Democrats are also taking a second look.
WATSON: Well, you know, what Democrats are worried about what Howard Dean is saying, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. But there's a world in which they should be more worried about what Ken Mehlman, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, is actually doing. In particular, Suzanne, he's very smartly and very ably figuring out what consumers are doing, from what beer they buy, are they buying Coors Lite or are they buying Bud Lite, to what kind of sports they watch on TV. Are you watching college football or pro football? And using all of that information, putting it in a database, and based on that, deciding what kind of mailer he should send out to you in order to get you to vote for his candidates, or who should knock on your door, or when they should call you, or how often they should call you.
And when you hear that, you say, well, OK, I'll tune in in 2006, maybe 2008. But the reality is that Ken Mehlman is not waiting for that in order to implement his microtargeting strategy. He's been using these local and special elections in places like Nebraska, a city council race, state senate race in Missouri, and even a blue state like New York, in order to win four out of six major special elections. So there's more to worry about in the RNC maybe than what Howard Dean is actually saying.
MALVEAUX: Well, thanks for keeping us posted on all of that. Carlos, we're going to have to let you go. We have some more developing news of course out of Santa Maria, California. That is where we find our own Ted Rowlands -- Rowlands, I'm sorry -- with the latest on the Michael Jackson case. Ted, what can you tell us? Give us a sense of what's happening outside the courtroom.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, sources are telling CNN that indeed, it was a very active day for jurors. They asked numerous questions of the judge today, and they asked for readbacks numerous times. We have also learned that the lawyers for both sides met with the judge at least three times today. All of this happening today. A lot of action, clearly some movement, but still no verdict -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Well, thank you very much, Ted. Thanks for keeping us posted on that. And of course, more in the news: Storm chasers, amazing pictures of a tornado touching down in Kansas.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: A tornado is going to be destructive and deadly, but they are also undeniably awe-inspiring. Our picture of the day comes from a tornado chase in northern Kansas near Stockton.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the way!
Tornado on the ground east! Tornado on the ground west! Tornado on the ground east! Tornado on the ground west!
Oh, man.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in Trego County. June 9th, 2005. Two tornadoes on the ground at the same time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That east one is going to end up being...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, that's going to be a big one, yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Clearly awe-inspiring for those drivers there. There were power outages in the Stockton area, but there are no reports of injuries or serious damage.
Now, thanks for joining us. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now. Christine Romans is sitting in for Lou -- Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, GUEST HOST, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT": Thanks, Suzanne.
END
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 10, 2005 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, a satellite view of a dangerous storm. It's not a hurricane yet, but it's already a killer. We'll tell you what to expect from Arlene.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): Insurgents unmasked. Are these foreign fighters really foreigners? We'll show you where the suicide bombers come from.
Hit list. Are Syrian agents back in Lebanon to carry out assassinations? A White House warning.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to follow up on these troubling reports.
MALVEAUX: Arlene eyes the Gulf coast.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're thinking no, no, this is not going to happen again. It just can't. You know, we just can't go through this again.
MALVEAUX: Are Florida residents in for a repeat of last year's deadly storm season?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Friday, June 10, 2005.
MALVEAUX: I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Thanks for joining us. Wolf is off today.
From mortar attack to mystery, could U.S. officers have been deliberately attacked by fellow Americans? The Army has begun a criminal investigation into the deaths of two officers this week at a base in Iraq. And the case is taking on eerie echoes of what was once a common problem for another war a generation ago.
We begin our coverage with senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie?
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, the U.S. military is investigating the possibility that two U.S. Army officers might have been murdered in a so-called fragging incident this week in Iraq. Fragging refers to troops deliberately killing officers, and it's extremely rare in the U.S. military.
And the investigation is just now getting way into the incident which occurred Tuesday night about 10 o'clock at night at what the U.S. military calls Forward Operating Base Danger near Tikrit, north of Baghdad. Two officers were killed after an explosion inside the base, the company commander and the operations officer for the Army National Guard headquarters company.
According to a statement issued by Multi-National Corps Iraq, the initial investigation, it says, indicated that a mortar round struck the window on the side of the building where the two officers were, but, quote, "upon further examination of the scene by explosive ordinance personnel, it was determined the blast pattern was inconsistent with a mortar attack."
Now, sources tell CNN that investigators found evidence that was consistent with an ordinance or munition used routinely by the U.S. military and other indications that a crime had been committed.
That said, they haven't reached any conclusions yet. In fact, they have no suspects. Other possibilities are that an infiltrator or an intruder got into the base and set off the device. Or it could have been some kind of an accident, although they say at this point that doesn't look likely.
The two officers who were killed were identified as Captain Phillip Esposito and First Lieutenant Louis Allen, both of the New York National Guard -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Jamie, thank you very much for that report.
Also, five U.S. marines have been killed in a roadside bombing in western Iraq. That word from the U.S. military, which says the incident happened yesterday during combat operations in the Anbar province. Today, seven U.S. soldiers were wounded when a suicide car bomber attacked their patrol in the northern city of Mosul.
As the violence rages on, there is new information about the origins of some of the most diehard insurgents. CNN's Jennifer Eccleston reports from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This tape is an insurgent testimonial. Abdul Rachman Sala al-Rahami (ph) came to Iraq to die in the jihad.
"I came here to fight against the infidels, the invaders of Iraq," he says. His target, a police station in Karbala, one of four suicide car bomb attacks that day. The act forever marking him a martyr.
Stories like al-Rahami's (ph) are extolled on Web sites run by radical Islamists, where Iraq martyrdom is hailed as an inspiration for a new generation of terrorists. In fact, recent independent studies on Iraqi insurgents say the face of the vast majority of suicide bombers is, indeed, from outside Iraq.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Most of these suicide bombings are being done by foreigners. Many of them are Saudis. You know, there's also been some indications that there are even a number of Europeans have tried to be involved in suicide attacks.
ECCLESTON: In one count, of the 154 suicide bomber death notices posted on Islamic Web sites since August, 61 percent were Saudi, and just 25 percent were Kuwaiti, Syrian and Iraqi, many believe connected to the terror network of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
But pinpointing a precise number of foreign jihadists is an ongoing challenge to U.S. and Iraqi officials. The military's rough estimate is anywhere from 5 to 10 percent of the insurgency.
One senior American military official provided CNN with a nationality snapshot of fighters captured during the Baghdad anti- insurgency push, Operation Lightning. Of the 1,000 people netted, 50 were not Iraqis, most from Sudan, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
Failed suicide attackers, like Saudi Ahmed Abdullah al-Shia (ph) provide the best intelligence to coalition forces. An unabashed jihadists, al-Shia said his first task as an insurgent was to deliver a gasoline tanker truck in central Baghdad. He says he didn't know it was a bomb.
Al-Shia (ph) cooperated with authorities, handed over names of foreign insurgents, but insisted the majority of anti-coalition fighters were Iraqi.
(on-screen): Still, terror analysts maintain that the number of non-Iraqi fighters is disproportionate to their impact. They're believed to conduct the bloodiest attacks, work hardest to incite sectarian violence, and that makes them a deadly percentage of the Iraqi insurgency.
Jennifer Eccleston, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And the U.S. military says an American soldier and seven insurgents were killed today in southeastern Afghanistan. Three Americans were wounded. The casualties came when the insurgents ambushed a joint patrol of coalition and Afghan forces in the Paktika province near the Pakistani border. The military says aircraft and artillery were called in to respond to the attack.
A senior State Department official tells CNN that the U.S. has, quote, "credible information that Syrian military intelligence forces are returning to Lebanon" and that Syrian agents have plans to assassinate top Lebanese politicians. President Bush today warned that the U.S. is watching closely. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our message to Syria -- and it's not just the message of the United States, the United Nations has said the same thing -- is that, in order for Lebanon to be free, is for Syria to not only remove her military, but to remove intelligence officers, as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: But in Damascus today, denials. Our senior international correspondent Brent Sadler is in the Syrian capital.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENT SADLER, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Syria reacted angrily to U.S. claims the regime in Damascus is attempting to destabilize neighboring Lebanon, now in the midst of key parliamentary elections, denying any involvement in political violence, that included bomb attacks and assassinations.
The White House, though, expresses deep concern that Syrian intelligence operatives are creating a climate of fear in Lebanon where opposition political parties hope to win control of parliament by defeating pro-Syrian MPs at the ballot box.
Two leading opposition figures, Saad Hariri, the son of assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and Druze leader Walid Junblat say they have been forced to curtail travel, fearing their lives are in danger.
And the U.S. is taking seriously further allegations based on reports from Lebanon that Syria has drawn up a hit list of potential targets aimed at decapitating opposition, allegations flatly rejected by officials here, who claim Syria has fully complied with U.N. demands to withdraw all military and intelligence efforts from Lebanon.
BUTHINA SHABBAN, SYRIAN BAATH PARTY CONGRESS: Syria never had a history of hit list. There's only one party in the region who has hit list and who throw bombs and shells on people, and who put car bombs against Palestinians, against Lebanese and Lebanon, and against Palestinians and Syria. And Israel acknowledged doing that.
It is not the history of Syria. I think they should look somewhere else, unless they want to take these as a pretext to target Syria.
SADLER: A United Nations verification team recently confirmed a Syrian troop withdrawal from Lebanon, but was less certain about possible intelligence activities there, given its shadowy nature. But secretary general of the U.N., Kofi Annan, says he's considering the possibility of sending his teams back in the wake of claims Syria may be trying to reenergize intelligence activity there, claims officials here vigorous deny, saying it would be tantamount to Syria shooting itself in the foot. Brent Sadler, CNN, Damascus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And this programming note, the Syrian ambassador to the United States, Imad Moustapha, will be a guest on "LATE EDITION" this weekend. That's Sunday at noon Eastern.
Tropical Storm Arlene gaining strength as it enters the Gulf of Mexico. Live pictures from the Florida coast. Could it become the season's first hurricane? We'll have a new forecast just released.
And day six and counting. Live pictures of the courthouse in Santa Maria, California, where jurors are deliberating the fate of Michael Jackson. Will a verdict be reached before the weekend begins?
And vacation nightmare. Natalee Holloway is not the first young woman to disappear from the Aruba area. Hear from another American family missing their daughter.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: The first tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season has crossed through Cuba and is heading for the United States. Tropical Storm Arlene actually was good news for Cuban farmers, bringing rain to a region that had been suffering from a long drought. But Arlene is growing stronger as it moves towards the U.S. gulf coast, which still has grim memories of last year's hurricane season.
NASA has just released new satellite pictures of Arlene. The latest report puts the storm in the Gulf of Mexico, about 335 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, moving just west of due north at about 17 miles-an-hour. Maximum sustained winds are clocked near 65 miles-an-hour.
As we mentioned, the National Hurricane Center has just put a new forecast for Arlene. Meteorologist Jill Brown is standing by in the CNN Weather Center with late details and an up-to-the-minute forecast.
Jill, what do you have?
JILL BROWN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right, Suzanne, this is the 5 o'clock update. Next one comes at 8 o'clock, by the way, so we'll get more information then.
But right now, 65 mile-per-hour winds. That's up from the last report at 2 o'clock where it was 60 mile-per-hour winds. So it's gaining gradual strength, moving to the north at 17 miles-an-hour.
It's moving a little more quickly, and that's probably not all bad news. If we keep it moving, those areas that get rain won't last as long. However, it is going to give you less time to prepare. It looks like this may make landfall by Saturday afternoon, as opposed to Saturday evening. So it's moving along at a pretty good pace.
Pressure's 997, that's the same. As it gets stronger, we'll likely see the pressure go down and the winds go up. And again, it's not going to be -- we're not expecting a whole lot of strengthening.
About 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon, perhaps, for landfall, still is a strong tropical storm, but not a hurricane. Could that change? Definitely possible. And then once it moves inland, we'll see it dissipate, of course. Once a tropical system moves in over land, it has no fuel to keep it going.
So in the meantime, a lot of rain. We have this tornado watch until 11 o'clock for southern parts of Florida. We have had some tornado warnings. None recently, but that's a threat. Heavy rain, tornadoes, and then, of course, tomorrow, up the road apiece there along the Florida panhandle over to about Mobile, maybe New Orleans, will be the areas we'll be watching.
Suzanne, back to you.
MALVEAUX: OK, thank you very much, Jill.
And ahead of the storm, rain and squalls are already hitting Florida. Governor Jeb Bush has signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency. CNN's John Zarrella joins us from Haulover Beach in Miami.
John, what is it looking like so far?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, I can tell you right now, one of those squall lines that you just mentioned has just started moving through here again right now. This is what we've been experiencing all day here.
Now, the storm is several hundred miles away from us in the Gulf of Mexico, but its long reach, those counter-clockwise bands, the circulation, the feeder bands, as they call them, pulling in that moisture off the Atlantic Ocean. And it has been like this, rain, and wind, and squalls here all day.
Now, over in the west coast, if this storm has done anything, it's gotten people in part of the hurricane belt, as we call it, to start preparing, to get moving. People in the Fort Myers area were stocking up at stores today in preparation, not so much for Arlene but for the season in general.
And all across the southeastern Florida shoreline, the waves have been kicking up tremendously today. Serious rip current issues and undertow. In fact, down on South Beach early this morning, one woman became the first victim of Tropical Storm Arlene, at least an indirect victim. That woman was out in the water when a rip current got her.
Another woman went in to try and save her. Both of them got caught. It took fire rescue 20 minutes to get the two ladies out of the water. The first woman was pronounced dead. Her lungs had filled with water.
So again, you can see we're in the middle, Suzanne, of one of these squalls that comes through here. And keep in mind, we're a couple of hundred miles away from the storm. And yet, we're experiencing this kind of weather -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: And John, we're looking at pictures now, of course, of people in the water. Why are they in the water? I mean, we assume that they have gotten those warnings.
ZARRELLA: Well, you know, the bottom line is, a lot of people just don't have any common sense. That's part of it. The other part is, the surfers have been out here all day, and the lifeguards have been standing there keeping an eye on them. But they just flat-out can't keep them out of the water.
There had to be a couple dozen of them out here all day. And again, a lot of people, you know, just not enough common sense out there sometimes -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Well, John, stay dry and be safe. We'll check in with you in a bit.
Korea concerns. The president of the South discusses nukes in the North at the White House, where not everyone sees eye-to-eye.
Also, tension mounting at the Michael Jackson trial. We're live at the courthouse on verdict watch.
Plus, only on CNN, we'll hear from the mother of one of the men being held in that missing student mystery in Aruba.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: CNN "Security Watch." Concerns about North Korea's nuclear program were dominating talk at the White House today where President Bush met with South Korea's president. Both leaders admitting they're not in total agreement on how to best deal with Pyongyang.
CNN's White House correspondent Dana Bash joins with us details. Dana, what was the highlight today?
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, one of the interesting moments, Suzanne, was when President Bush tried to show that he understands the nuance in dealing with North Korea. He referred to its leader as Mr. Kim Jong Il, a sign of respect.
But in talking about his discussion with his guest, the South Korean president, he thanked him for his, quote, "frank assessment." That's diplo-speak for some differences.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice-over): In the Oval Office with South Korea's president, a show of unity to paper over differences on an urgent goal, ridding North Korea of nuclear weapons.
BUSH: The president and I both agree the six-party talks are essential to saying to Mr. Kim Jong Il that he ought to give up his weapons. BASH: President Roh said disputes between their two countries on how approach Pyongyang are overblown, but amid the carefully scripted harmony, some candor.
ROH MOO-HYUN, PRESIDENT OF SOUTH KOREA (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): To be sure, there are one or two minor issues, but I'm also quite certain that we will be able to work them out very smoothly through dialogue.
BASH: North Korea has refused to negotiate for a year, all the while, U.S. officials fear, advancing its nuclear program. Though Pyongyang signaled earlier in the week it is ready to come back to the table, no date has been set. And the enigmatic regime is yet again sending mixed signals.
Ahead of this meeting, North Korea's official newspaper called the U.S. policy "hostile" and "a stumbling block towards settlement." The president refuses to offer new inducements, but does have a year- old offer on the table for energy and security, only if Pyongyang halts all nuclear development first.
BUSH: And the plan is still there, and it's full of inducements.
BASH: Mr. Bush will not deal one-on-one with North Korea, instead calling joint pressure from neighbors more effective. But South Korea and China, both key players in the six-party talks, have softened their policies toward North Korea and wish the Bush White House would be more open to compromise.
WENDY SHERMAN, FORMER NORTH KOREAN NEGOTIATOR: South Koreans are frustrated. They, after all, are the country that shares a border with North Korea, Pyongyang and the DMZ, actually, where North Korean troops are forward-deployed. A million, we think, North Korean troops are really only 30 kilometers from Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: That may be exactly why South Korea is weary of any U.S. threats that may rattle its mysterious neighbor, like suggesting sanctions through the United Nations if diplomacy doesn't work soon -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Thanks a lot, Dana, for the latest on that from the White House.
This weekend, CNN women are back "ON THE STORY." We'll discuss concerns, myself included, on North Korea's nuclear ambitions. Jane Arraf has an exclusive look at the hunt for insurgents in Iraq. And Kathleen Hays brings us warnings on the overheated housing market.
Is a new report on the safety of U.S. milk supply a blueprint for terrorism? Jeanne Meserve has that story.
And a medical breakthrough. Elizabeth Cohen tells us how donated ovarian tissue helped a woman become pregnant. That's all "ON THE STORY," Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. Now, before meeting with the South Korean president, Mr. Bush visited the new high-tech center built to prevent another 9/11. Our David Ensor of the CNN America Bureau is here with the details.
A very top secret place, but, of course, you got an inside look.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN AMERICA BUREAU CORRESPONDENT: Well, a brief one, Suzanne. It was a first look for the president and a brief look for us, as well, at a new intelligence facility that just opened only recently.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR (voice-over): The president got a firsthand look at the new National Counterterrorism Center in Virginia, a state-of-the-art intelligence facility designed to fuse information from the CIA, FBI, Homeland Security, and elsewhere into one in order to stop terrorists. It was set up after the 9/11 attacks showed that federal agencies were withholding key intelligence from each other.
BUSH: I appreciate the fact that here you pool your expertise and your computer systems, all aimed at shining the spotlight on enemies who think they can hide in the shadows of the world.
ENSOR: The president used the occasion to lobby Congress to extend expiring provisions of the Patriot Act, a post-9/11 law permitting wider U.S. government access to intrusively collected information on citizens in order to try to stop terrorists.
BUSH: For the sake of our national security, the United States Congress needs to renew all the provisions of the Patriot Act. And this time, Congress needs to make those provisions permanent.
ENSOR: Bush cited a number of cases, including the Lackawanna Six, where he said the Patriot Act had been key in putting would-be terrorists behind bars.
The president's appearance came as a report from the Department of Justice inspector general outlined five opportunities missed by the FBI and other agencies to stop two of the 9/11 hijackers. The report gave fuel to critics who questioned whether the FBI is doing a good job of taking on the domestic counterterrorism intelligence task on top of its law enforcement duties. Some charge the new analysts are still seen by FBI agents as second-class citizens.
JOHN GANNON, FORMER DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE CNCL: I still continue to believe within FBI, if you are not an agent, you are furniture.
MAUREEN BAGINSKI, FBI INTELLIGENCE DIRECTORATE: I don't think that that's fair. And what I have seen since I've been here, actually, is analysts pulled in to every core operational discussion and, in many cases, leading those operational discussions.
(END VIDEOTAPE) ENSOR: There has not been a major terrorist attack on this country since 9/11, something the administration can point to as it argues everything possible is being done. Senior intelligence officials repeatedly warn, though, that it's not a question of whether there will be another attack, it's only a question of when -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: David, thank you very much for that important report. Of course, stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
And now this just in. The jury in the Michael Jackson case has finished deliberations for the day with no verdict reached. You're seeing live pictures of the Santa Maria courthouse. And I will speak with criminal defense lawyer Robert Shapiro on what a prolonged deliberation could mean.
Missing in Aruba. The teenage son of an Aruban judge held in connection with Natalee Holloway's disappearance. Hear from the young man's mother, an interview you'll only see on CNN.
Bus crash, 25 children injured, some seriously. We'll have an update on the situation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: And welcome back. Live pictures from the Santa Maria courthouse where the jury has just gone home for the weekend from deliberating the case against Michael Jackson. We will have a live report. But first, a quick check of other stories now in the news.
Tense moments today in rural Yermo, California northeast of Los Angeles. Authorities evacuated a 1.5 mile area after an alarm sounded aboard a freight train carrying a rocket mortar for a Trident D5 missile. Navy and explosive ordnance teams were dispatched to the area, but officials determined the rocket had not been tampered with.
As many as 25 children were hurt today, five of them seriously, when a tractor-trailer slammed into a school bus on the Florida Turnpike in Boca Raton. The bus was carrying children of migrant workers to a summer camp outing. Police say some of the children were ejected from the bus.
Jurors in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial wrapped up their sixth day of deliberations just moments ago. The eight man, four-woman jury got the case a week ago today. Our Ted Rowlands has been following developments from inside the courtroom.
Ted, what is the latest? What happened here?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Suzanne, there was a lot of speculation. It's Friday. Are we going to get a verdict? Not the case.
As you mentioned, jurors left here a few moments ago, their sixth day of work on the Jackson case. Inside the courtroom, we don't know what has happened. We haven't gotten any updates from the jurors. They asked a question once last Friday, but nothing since. So, as to their progress, we just don't know.
Meanwhile, outside the courtroom, Jackson supporters and other protesters have been camped out here and holding vigil waiting patiently for a verdict. At Neverland Ranch, Michael Jackson is said to be waiting patiently, as well, with family and friends. There are a few protesters camped out outside Neverland Ranch, as well.
When a verdict does come down, and it will have to be next week at some point, Jackson will have one hour to make it here to the courthouse until that verdict is read.
Six days, still no verdict. Everybody's still waiting to hear Michael Jackson's fate -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Ted Rowlands, thank you very much.
Now here now to offer some legal insight into the Jackson trial and a continuing jury deliberations is renowned criminal defense attorney Robert Shapiro.
Robert, thank you so much for joining us. As we know, we all know you very, very well from the O.J. Simpson case. And you defended O.J. Simpson.
It took that jury really just hours before they came back with a no guilty verdict. What is going on here? What do you think is happening inside that jury room?
ROBERT SHAPIRO, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You can't compare, Suzanne, one case with another case. In the Jackson case, it's a very, very complicated verdict form that the jurors have to fill out. Not only are there ten charges, but within those charges, on the conspiracy, there are 28 different overt acts that have to be voted upon. And within the other charges, there's seven or eight sub charges, what we call enhancements, that the jury has to make a decision on.
So I don't find six days of deliberation in a case of this magnitude where there's a hundred pages of jury instructions to be surprising.
MALVEAUX: Bob, do you think that it give us any kind of insight to what the jurors are thinking? Perhaps there is a lone juror that's holding out, or do you think that they are just going through this rather complex case? What do you think they are actually dealing with if they look at all of those ten charges?
SHAPIRO: I think you probably have better luck if you cut open a tea bag and tried to make some sense out of what the tea leaves meant. There's no way to speculate what a jury is doing at this point in time. And those who do, I think are probably all going to be wrong. Jurors generally come up with things that no one else is thinking about. And they focus on issues that become more important to them than to other people who happen to be watching or critiquing what's taking place.
So I don't read anything whatsoever into the length of the time of the jury deliberations, what they're wearing when they come in, what day of the week it is, or anything else. This jury seems to be extremely deliberate. They know they have a case with enormous consequences attached to it, should a conviction be rendered. And I think they are doing the job that we would expect of our jurors.
MALVEAUX: So bottom line, you don't see this either as a good sign for the prosecution or the defense after six days?
SHAPIRO: Every time that I've been in court, and I've done hundreds of these trials Suzanne, everybody tries to speculate. The jurors walked in with their heads up, they walked in with their heads down. They were smiling, they were laughing. None of that means anything whatsoever.
When the foreman comes out and hands that verdict to the judge, everybody will have their hearts beating at a very, very rapid pace until the clerk reads that verdict.
MALVEAUX: And you've been in the situation many times sitting with your clients, I'm sure, during those very tense, very nervous moments. What is the client, generally, the defendant going through at that time? Are they nervous? Are they resigned? Generally speaking, what is the state of mind during that waiting period?
SHAPIRO: You know what I would compare it to? I'd compare it to somebody who goes to a doctor and is diagnosed with the symptoms of a terminal disease, and they are awaiting the results of a biopsy. It has to be the most tense moment of anyone's life. And I don't care whether it's a minor charge or a capital murder case, everyone I've ever represented has sweaty palms, has heart palpitations and has anxiety. And that also goes for the lawyers.
MALVEAUX: And if you are Tom Mesereau now, if you could put yourself in his shoes, what would you be telling Jackson?
SHAPIRO: That we did the best we could. That we put on everything we wanted to put on before the jury. And that we're going to be hopeful that the jury believes what we said and that they find that there is reasonable doubt as to the validity of these charges.
MALVEAUX: Do you think that there's going to be a conviction either way of serious charges, lesser charges, if I know you're reading tea leaves but go ahead, read them.
SHAPIRO: From what I've viewed of this case, Suzanne, you have a little boy who testified at the beginning of the trial and then he was the very last witness who testified on a tape, on a videotape. And there was no cross-examination.
So this jury started out with the little boy's accusations and ended with those accusations. And there has been no witness to contradict that. So the defense's theory that the mother made the boy do this and it's all made up is something that the jury will consider, but it's not one of those cases that everybody says he said, she said. This is the little boy and no contradiction whatsoever. Only speculation as to why he may have not been truthful. MALVEAUX: Well, very serious charges, and we thank you very much for your time. We know you're following this, as well. And we'll see how it develops next week. Bob Shapiro, thank you very much for your insights.
SHAPIRO: You're welcome.
MALVEAUX: Thank you.
And this week, we told you about Tommy Hook, an auditor at the Los Alamos National Nuclear Laboratory who was beaten outside a strip club in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At the time, Hook and his wife blamed the attack on thugs who wanted to stop him from testifying before Congress about alleged financial irregularities at the lab.
Now, Santa Fe police are disputing that. They say Hook got into a fight after his car struck a pedestrian outside the club. And it was completely unrelated to Los Alamos. A friend says Hook does stand by his original statement.
Missing teen mystery: New details about the men in custody in connection with the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway. Agonizing search: the Alabama teen isn't the first American to disappear from the Aruba area. Our Brian Todd has the story of another young woman missing for seven years.
And later, are unions set to make a comeback? Our Carlos Watson has the "Inside Edge."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: The search continues for Natalee Holloway, the 18- year-old Alabama high school student, who has been missing in Aruba since May 30th.
CNN's Karl Penhaul is there with the story -- Karl?
PENHAUL: Suzanne, investigators say there's still no evidence as to the whereabouts of Natalee Holloway. No idea whether she's alive or dead, but police have continued to interrogate the three suspects arrested yesterday. Among them, a minor by the name of Juran van der Sloot. We managed to talk to his mother, Anita, today. This is what she had to say about her son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANITA VAN DER SLOOT, JURAN VAN DER SLOOT'S MOTHER: He was not upset. He understood the police. He was quiet. He was open. He helped the police as much as possible. He was willing to speak to the parents. He was willing to help with anything. And he had a kind of quietness over --and he said mom, "don't be upset, because everything will be fine. I know I'm innocent. I didn't do anything." You know, in an very almost naive way he was very open with us. Told us everything what happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PENHAUL: Search and rescue teams have also continued to search parts of the island, but they have been telling us they're at a loss of which new areas to begin to search. They've searched most of the public areas on the island -- Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Karl Penhaul, thank you, very much, for that report.
Now, the Holloway case is bringing up painful memories for another American family whose own vacation in paradise turned into a nightmare. That continues seven years later.
CNN's Brian Todd is here with their story. Very troubling, Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Suzanne, along with those painful memories, comes an opportunity for these two Virginia parents who are trying to keep their daughter's case in the public eye.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): Iva Bradley says her first thought when she saw news coverage of Natalee Holloway's disappearance, "God help her parents." Bradley's daughter, Amy, was also on vacation, had just been to Aruba, and was heading to the nearby island of Curacao. That's when Amy Bradley vanished. It happened seven years ago.
RON BRADLEY, MISSING WOMAN'S FATHER: No one should have to go through what we've been through in the last seven years. And I know that Natalee's family is going through the same thing. You have so many thoughts and things that come to your mind, and it just doesn't leave you.
TODD: Ron Bradley last saw his then 23-year-old daughter at dawn on March 24th, 1998, lying on a lounge chair on the balcony of the family's room on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. The vessel had either just docked or was about to dock in Curacao. Ron Bradley says he slipped back to sleep, but when he woke up about 30 minutes later, Amy was gone.
The family says the ship's crew promised a thorough search, but didn't check the entire vessel. That the staff refused to make an immediate public address announcement about the disappearance, and then let passengers disembark against the family's request. FBI agents interviewed witnesses on the ship, but have no authority on Curacao. FBI officials tell CNN the case remains open, but there are no new leads.
The family believes Amy was kidnapped from the ship that day, and has been held in servitude.
IVA BRADLEY, MISSING GIRL'S MOTHER: We're doing these pieces so that we can get some -- get Amy's face back out in the public, because we know that somebody knows something.
TODD: But there are questions about what the Bradley's know. The family claims crew members on the Royal Caribbean ship were hitting on their daughter during the voyage, and that a waiter approached the parents on board while the ship was docked in Aruba, and asked if he could take Amy to a bar. The family says Amy refused. Contacted by CNN, Royal Caribbean would not respond directly to those allegations, or the Bradley's charges about the crew's conduct after Amy's disappearance.
But Royal Caribbean did refer us to a court order from 2000, when a lawsuit the family had filed against the cruise line was thrown out. The order says the Bradleys committed fraud against the court by not disclosing more than 100 reports they'd gotten of people seeing their daughter, in Curacao, after her disappearance.
Many of those witnesses, according to the court order, never mentioned Amy being under any duress. Ron Bradley denies committing fraud. Court documents indicate the Bradleys held back that information out of concern that revealing it could endanger their daughter. The judge didn't accept that explanation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: Authorities on Curacao tell CNN they found no evidence that Amy jumped or fell off that ship. The family says there was not acrimony at the time, nothing to make Amy want to leave on her own. But seven years into this case, the only person who may have the definitive answer would now be 31 years old --Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Brian, we wish the very best for that family. Thanks for that report.
Now, of course, coming up, a sign of decline. What the major job cuts announced by General Motors means for the future of unions.
And our Carlos Watson has the "Inside Edge."
And of course, tornado touchdown: twisters on the ground in Kansas. Dramatic video ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Well, when General Motors announced big layoffs this week, that was a business decision, but it may have an impact on politics, too. CNN political analyst Carlos Watson is here to explain why in his "Inside Edge." He joins us from Mountain View, California. Carlos, always good to see you, and of course, when we're looking at this story, it seems as if there might be a renaissance that is taking place with the unions. We've heard a lot of job talk. What is going on in terms of the power of labor?
CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you know, when you hear that General Motors is cutting 25,000 jobs, Suzanne, it sounds like yet another sign of the decline of big labor. In fact, next month, you'll probably hear a fairly big announcement that the AFL- CIO, the largest union organization, that several of its largest sub- unions are likely to leave, meaning that 50-year-old confederation may actually disband. But in a strange way, breaking up and breaking in maybe into smaller confederations of labor unions actually could lead to a renaissance. You could have smaller, more potent, more nimble unions who actually may try some different political strategies. What do I mean when I say that? I mean not just giving money to candidates or providing ground troops, but maybe participating in terms of writing more op-eds, being involved in the media, actually being involved in more local and state races, and frankly, supporting more aggressive candidates than you've seen some in big labor do.
In some ways, it's a little bit like Ma Bell. Remember when Ma Bell broke up 20, 25 years ago...
MALVEAUX: Right, right.
WATSON: ... the Baby Bells ended up coming back stronger. AT&T is now a footnote. And you might see something very analogous happen here in the union world.
So stay tuned next month when the AFL-CIO meets for their annual convention. You may hear something very significant in terms of a possible renaissance going forward.
MALVEAUX: And I know you've been looking at another engine, perhaps, Republican political engine that is, Ken Mehlman, who is in charge of the committee of the party. Tell us what is going on there? I know Democrats are also taking a second look.
WATSON: Well, you know, what Democrats are worried about what Howard Dean is saying, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. But there's a world in which they should be more worried about what Ken Mehlman, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, is actually doing. In particular, Suzanne, he's very smartly and very ably figuring out what consumers are doing, from what beer they buy, are they buying Coors Lite or are they buying Bud Lite, to what kind of sports they watch on TV. Are you watching college football or pro football? And using all of that information, putting it in a database, and based on that, deciding what kind of mailer he should send out to you in order to get you to vote for his candidates, or who should knock on your door, or when they should call you, or how often they should call you.
And when you hear that, you say, well, OK, I'll tune in in 2006, maybe 2008. But the reality is that Ken Mehlman is not waiting for that in order to implement his microtargeting strategy. He's been using these local and special elections in places like Nebraska, a city council race, state senate race in Missouri, and even a blue state like New York, in order to win four out of six major special elections. So there's more to worry about in the RNC maybe than what Howard Dean is actually saying.
MALVEAUX: Well, thanks for keeping us posted on all of that. Carlos, we're going to have to let you go. We have some more developing news of course out of Santa Maria, California. That is where we find our own Ted Rowlands -- Rowlands, I'm sorry -- with the latest on the Michael Jackson case. Ted, what can you tell us? Give us a sense of what's happening outside the courtroom.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, sources are telling CNN that indeed, it was a very active day for jurors. They asked numerous questions of the judge today, and they asked for readbacks numerous times. We have also learned that the lawyers for both sides met with the judge at least three times today. All of this happening today. A lot of action, clearly some movement, but still no verdict -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Well, thank you very much, Ted. Thanks for keeping us posted on that. And of course, more in the news: Storm chasers, amazing pictures of a tornado touching down in Kansas.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: A tornado is going to be destructive and deadly, but they are also undeniably awe-inspiring. Our picture of the day comes from a tornado chase in northern Kansas near Stockton.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the way!
Tornado on the ground east! Tornado on the ground west! Tornado on the ground east! Tornado on the ground west!
Oh, man.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in Trego County. June 9th, 2005. Two tornadoes on the ground at the same time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That east one is going to end up being...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, that's going to be a big one, yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Clearly awe-inspiring for those drivers there. There were power outages in the Stockton area, but there are no reports of injuries or serious damage.
Now, thanks for joining us. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now. Christine Romans is sitting in for Lou -- Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, GUEST HOST, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT": Thanks, Suzanne.
END
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