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CNN Live At Daybreak

Gitmo Debate; Autopsy Answers; Opening Up; Face of Hope

Aired June 16, 2005 - 05:30   ET

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

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK.
Coming up in the next 30 minutes, finally some answers on the controversial death of Terri Schiavo. The autopsy's findings may surprise you.

And she came to Washington to talk about the world's refugee crisis. We'll hear from Angelina Jolie later in the show.

But first, "Now in the News."

A hostage crisis at an international school in Cambodia came to an end just about 90 minutes ago. A 5-year-old Canadian girl was killed by one of the gunmen who had held dozens of children hostage for six hours. Police killed two hostage takers and took two others into custody.

Car bomb goes off in the Iraqi capital wounding six people. Five of them were Iraqi police on patrol. A police captain says the car was parked on a street and detonated by remote control.

Investigators probing the now defunct U.N. Oil-For-Food program are scrutinizing a newly released memo. Points to a possible communication between Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Swiss company that employed his son and won a lucrative inspection contract.

Police in Aruba search the home of a judge and his teenage son who is under arrest in the case of missing teen Natalee Holloway. Two cars and some bags full of items were taken from the home.

To the Forecast Center and, Chad, good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: Thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: OK.

COSTELLO: Topping the news this half-hour, some lawmakers want to close the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay. Human rights groups have criticized the treatment of the more than 500 al Qaeda suspects there. But at Senate hearings, U.S. military and Justice Department officials defended the camp.

CNN's Ed Henry has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a tale of two prisons with Democrats calling Guantanamo an international embarrassment, while Republicans insisted the detention center is vital to the war on terror.

SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R-AL), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Now this country is not systematically abusing prisoners. We have no policy to do so and it's wrong to suggest that. And it puts our soldiers at risk who are in this battle because we sent them there, and we have an obligation to them.

HENRY: Republicans continued to hammer the theme that detainees actually have it pretty good. With Sessions saying the prison is in such a scenic part of Cuba, it would make a magnificent resort. That followed Republican Duncan Hunter's media event on Monday in which he contended the prisoners are well fed.

REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R-CA), ARMED SERVICES CHAIRMAN: This is lemon fish. And this is what the 20th hijacker and Osama bin Laden's bodyguards will be eating this week.

HENRY: Democrats scoffed at that, charging Guantanamo is really just a legal black hole for the 520 detainees.

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Producing props of chicken dinners and such, seeming to argue this is more a Club Med than a prison. Let's get real.

HENRY: Democrats stepped up their efforts to shut the prison down altogether, but the committee chairman echoed Vice President Cheney by suggesting it would be unwise to simply release the suspected terrorists.

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), JUDICIARY CHAIRMAN: And we ought to be as sure as we can what steps are being taken so that we do not release detainees from Guantanamo who turn up on battlefields killing Americans.

HENRY: But some detainees have languished in the prison for three years without facing any charges. If they're really terrorists, say Democrats, charge them with crimes.

LEAHY: If that's true, if they pose a threat to us, then there has to be evidence to support that or our administration would not tell the world that. And if there's evidence, then let's prosecute them, let's bring the evidence forward.

HENRY (on camera): But a top Justice Department official testified that the Bush administration believes legally it can keep these detainees in perpetuity.

Ed Henry, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: At one point during the hearing, Senator Dick Durbin had some strong words about the treatment of prisoners at Gitmo. The Democrat from Illinois compared the actions of American soldiers at Guantanamo to Nazis or Soviets at their gulags. Durbin says he has no intention of apologizing for these comments.

In a statement he said -- quote -- "This administration should apologize to the American people for abandoning the Geneva Conventions and authorizing torture techniques that put our troops at risk and make Americans less secure."

A newly released memo is raising more questions this morning about U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's possible role in Iraq's Oil- For-Food program. The author of that 1998 memo denies that he lobbied Annan to award the contract to the Swiss company where both he and Annan's son, Kojo, worked.

But the memo by the company's vice president reads in part, we had brief discussions with the Secretary-General and his entourage, and we could count on their support. A week after that e-mail was sent, the company won the contract with the lowest bid. But representatives for Kofi Annan and the company's former vice president say that 1998 meeting never happened. Investigators say they are urgently reviewing the memo.

In news "Across America" now, dozens of homes in Yuma, Arizona remain empty after a Marine Harrier jet crashed in a residential neighborhood. The residents were evacuated while bomb disposal units removed the plane's munitions, which included four 500-pound bombs. The pilot safely ejected, but one person on the ground was injured. Cause of the crash still under investigation.

A Texas judge has sentenced former Baylor basketball player Carlton Dotson to 35 years in prison. Dotson pleaded guilty last week in the murder of his best friend and teammate Patrick Dennehy. Dennehy was missing for six weeks before his body was found in a field near the university.

Two of the police officers in this video have been fired from the Dillon, South Carolina police force. A camera in the patrol car caught officers beating and kicking a suspect during a traffic stop on June 5. The video evidence have led prosecutors to seek assault charges against at least one of these officers.

Nearly three months after her death we finally have a follow-up on the results of Terri Schiavo's autopsy. While some questions were answered, the controversy over her life and death remains.

CNN's Mary Snow has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Medical examiners who performed the autopsy on Terri Schiavo said her brain was roughly half the size of what would be considered normal.

DR. JON THOGMARTIN, MEDICAL EXAMINER: Mrs. Schiavo suffered a severe anoxic brain injury. In other words, her brain suffered damage from lack of blood flow and oxygen.

SNOW: The medical examiner and his team concluded no amount of therapy would have reversed her condition. Reacting to the report, Michael Schiavo was described by his attorney as being pleased with the evidence. Michael Schiavo had contended that his wife was in a persistent vegetative state and that was why he wanted to remove her feeding tube and let her die.

THOGMARTIN: Was Mrs. Schiavo in a persistent vegetative state?

SNOW: For that key question, the medical examiner had no answer.

Her parents disputed that she was in a vegetative state and alleged Michael Schiavo abused her.

GEORGE FELOS, MICHAEL SCHIAVO'S ATTORNEY: For years and years the courts have found that there was no abuse of Terri, no evidence of abuse and that's what the medical examiner found.

SNOW: But Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, are not satisfied. The autopsy report did not determine why Terri Schiavo initially collapsed in 1990 and lost consciousness. Doctors say they found no signs of abuse or trauma. The Schindlers' attorney questions what he calls an unexplained gap in 1990 between the time Terri Schiavo collapsed and when her husband dialed 911.

DAVID GIBBS, SCHINDLERS' ATTORNEY: I think this 70-minute time period, when all of this brain injury, when the blood flow is stopped, is very significant. And I would want to know -- and Michael Schiavo was the only person who was there.

SNOW: Michael Schiavo's attorney calls the claim of a time gap baseless.

Another conclusion of the medical examiner: Terri Schiavo was totally blind.

THOGMARTIN: Her vision centers of her brain were dead.

SNOW: Michael Schiavo's attorney said that's significant, saying it shows that Terri Schiavo could not see her mother in what became a widely watched video of Terri Schiavo and her mother in 2002. It had been released by the Schindlers to prove their daughter was responsive. An attorney for the Schindlers acknowledged Terri Schiavo was visually impaired, but did not concede she was totally blind.

As for what ultimately caused Terri Schiavo's death: she did not starve to death, it was dehydration.

Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, the U.S. Open tees off in Pinehurst, North Carolina. We'll take a look at who might be on top of the leader board.

But first, a look at what else is making news this Thursday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Golf.

MYERS: Yes, hot golf today.

COSTELLO: Hot golf today, you're right. Tiger Woods looks to make it to two -- make it two majors in a row when the U.S. Open gets under way later this morning.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: And how hot will it be in North Carolina?

MYERS: Ninety-one -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Ninety-one.

MYERS: And for you golfers out there, number 10, number 10 is 601 yard par 5.

COSTELLO: Wow!

MYERS: Which is probably still reachable for some guys. But for us stuffers (ph), that's...

COSTELLO: I'm sure it is for Tiger Woods.

MYERS: ... six shots for me to get on the green.

COSTELLO: I think that would be about 25 for me.

Here is CNN's Mark McKay. He has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Golfers endured one final day of practice on Wednesday ahead of the start of the 105th United States Open. It is supposed to be a relaxed atmosphere on the day before a major, but it's been anything but, with searing temperatures and a temperamental course putting extra pressure on the players.

The good news is the weather should be cooler by the weekend, but in all likelihood it will remain dry, making this challenging layout even more of a test for the world's top players. When talking to many of them, three topics in particular come up when breaking down Pinehurst number two: thick rough, deep bunkers and unforgiving greens. It all has the potential to be a major pain. VIJAY SINGH, 3-TIME MAJOR CHAMPION: I think this is the hottest year southern (ph) golf course I've played, from tee to green and around the greens. So it's going to be one hell of a test.

TIGER WOODS, 9-TIME MAJOR CHAMPION: Unfortunately, it's going to require a little bit of luck this week and see what kind of bounces you get. But then again, premium is always on ball striking at a U.S.G.A. and more so here. I mean you have to hit the ball well, put the ball on the green and have it stay on the green.

RETIEF GOOSEN, 2-TIME U.S. OPEN CHAMPION: You'll probably have somebody in the first couple of rounds leading that nobody has heard of. And then on the weekend, the better players seem to just rise to the top.

MCKAY: Now Retief Goosen wasn't particularly fond of Pinehurst number two the first time he played it. And understandably so, he missed the cut in 1999. The South African now is trying to become the first back-to-back U.S. Open champion in 16 years.

Mark McKay, CNN, Pinehurst, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Now, you're laughing. I see you laughing.

MYERS: I would love to be there. It'd be awesome.

COSTELLO: Me too, but you have to work.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Follow-up to a story we told you about yesterday. The New York Yankees, they're getting a new stadium. You're taking a look at the old one now.

MYERS: Is no one else inflamed about this?

COSTELLO: You know...

MYERS: You can't knock down Yankee Stadium.

COSTELLO: Well supposedly the new stadium is going to be built right next door. It'll still be in the Bronx and it'll be a better stadium -- Chad.

MYERS: You can't knock down Wrigley Field either.

COSTELLO: Well listen to this. This is from "The New York Post." It says the blockbuster new stadium will feature some details from the original 1923 "House That Ruth Built," including a limestone facade, the return of the bullpens to right field and improve sight lines that will even make the action visible from the concession stand. So that's pretty good.

MYERS: They have that at Turner Field. It's pretty phenomenal, actually.

COSTELLO: It's cool.

MYERS: The mezzanine is what they call it. And there's a very large area where you can stand out, talk to friends, not interrupt everybody else who just wants to sit and watch the game. And you can see the game from up there. That might be pretty cool.

COSTELLO: Exactly, $800 million, that's the price tag. The new park will also roughly triple the number of luxury boxes to 50 or 60, which of course makes a lot of money for George Steinbrenner.

MYERS: Cha-ching.

COSTELLO: I'm sure he'll reap back that $800 million very quickly. All right.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:47 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

In Cambodia, a hostage standoff at a school ended with one 5- year-old student and two armed bandits dead. Two other gunmen, described by police as drug addicts, were captured. More than 50 students and teachers at the school were held hostage during this standoff.

The trial for an 80-year-old man accused of killing three civil rights workers 41 years ago is under way. Prosecutors say Edgar Ray Killen was the mastermind behind the murders depicted in the movie "Mississippi Burning."

In money news, biotech company Chiron is lowering its expected earnings forecast for this year. The company says it will not produce as much flu vaccine as previously stated.

In culture, a more high-tech Teddy Ruxpin. That's a scary- looking bear, isn't it? Remember this, Chad, it was an animated stuffed bear?

MYERS: Yes, yes, yes, of course.

COSTELLO: It's been updated with digital technology and will be available beginning in September.

Are you getting one for your little baby boy?

MYERS: Well Grant doesn't need that.

COSTELLO: Grant doesn't need that.

MYERS: He'll just chew his eyes off.

COSTELLO: Kind of looks like it's the size of Grant.

MYERS: Could be. He's 20 pounds now.

COSTELLO: He's big.

In sports, it's a rout. The Florida Marlins beat the Chicago Cubs 15 to 5. Florida's Miguel Cabrera went three for six with a home run and three RBIs -- Chad.

MYERS: Yes, Wrigley Field didn't look so good yesterday, did it?

COSTELLO: No.

MYERS: Fifteen to five.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: That's a look at the latest headlines for you.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, "Mrs. Smith" goes to Washington, but Angelina Jolie is not promoting her movie. We'll take a look at her worthy cause.

And don't forget our e-mail "Question of the Morning," should African-American studies be required learning for high school students? We want to hear from you this morning, DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's a quote -- "I could have blown Prince Harry to bits." That is the claim of a newspaper reporter in London. Get this, the journalist, with a fake bomb, says he breached security at Harry's elite military school. He says he wandered the grounds of Sandhurst for seven hours.

Look, he even took a hidden video camera inside. There he is walking up the steps. "The Sun" newspaper reports Harry, Prince Harry, was there at the time. Hopefully we'll see Prince Harry in the video. That's not him.

The British Defense Ministry is quite upset about this and that they have launched an investigation right now to see how this possibly could have happened.

I guess we're not going to see Prince Harry.

Actress Angelina Jolie, make that diplomat Angelina Jolie, went to Washington for the World Refugee celebration. Jolie and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice kicked off the ceremony leading up to World Refugee Day on Monday. The Oscar winner has become the face of hope to the world's poor.

Andrea Koppel has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With her latest movie a box office smash, the real life "Mrs. Smith" came to Washington. But unlike the character she plays on screen, Angelina Jolie used her passion, not her punches, to win over this audience.

ANGELINA JOLIE, UNHCR GOODWILL AMBASSADOR: The people we speak about today are no different from us. And in fact they are us, and often they are the best of us.

KOPPEL: The people Jolie is talking about are an estimated 17 million refugees around the world. Last year the U.S. resettled 52,000 of them and contributed over $250 million to the U.N.'s work with refugees. A good start, said Jolie, but still not enough.

JOLIE: As much as America gives the most, they say -- can say they give the most money. When it's the percentage of what we have that we give, we actually give the least.

KOPPEL: For the last four years, the Oscar winning Jolie has left Hollywood's red carpet far behind and in between filming movies, traveled to refugee camps around the world as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Refugee Agency.

As art sometimes imitates life, for Jolie it was her role as an international aid worker in the movie "Beyond Borders" which inspired her to get involved.

In an interview with CNN, Jolie remembered the first time she saw a child die in a refugee camp.

JOLIE: And you know it was my first trip and my first moment and my thought was, being somebody from the states and had a bit of money, I thought well we'll just airlift him and take him to the hospital. And I can solve this in a second.

And then you suddenly would sound -- you know there's that moment where you look around and you realize that there are you know hundreds of thousands of people in the exact same situation and that a lot of these kids were going to die. And then I went home and I thought I should have at least taken one. And I'll always kick myself for not trying with just that one.

KOPPEL: A few years ago Jolie did adopt a Cambodian child, Maddox. And says she hopes to adopt again soon, perhaps from Africa.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: You know I was walking the streets of New York one day and I saw a young woman crossing the street with a beautiful child. She was carrying him. And you were so intent on looking at the child, because the child was so cute, and it was Angelina Jolie.

MYERS: Really?

COSTELLO: It was cool. She's a good mom. Yes.

But it's time to get to our e-mail segment of the day. We're asking an interesting question this morning, should African-American studies be required in high school? Philadelphia has just done that. It's requiring freshman to take a year's worth of African-American history only and then sophomore, junior, senior year they'll take the rest of their history courses. So we want to know what you think.

MYERS: And we're going to get into this more, actually, with the Philadelphia school system in the next hour.

Joe (ph) in Studio City, African-American history is American history. Of course it should be in the curriculum.

Easy for me to say.

COSTELLO: Curriculum.

MYERS: Yes, that's the word.

No, I'm not sure it should be offered in public schools unless we also offer history of all the groups in our country. That's from Kurt (ph).

If blacks were included in American history, again back to that American history thing, to reflect the accomplishments other than that related to slavery, this would never and should have never been required. For example, most whites know nothing about Dory Miller or who he was, Navy guy, got the Naval Cross for Pearl Harbor. How many of you would know the accomplishments of Dr. Charles Drew or even who he was? These are only examples.

And Justin (ph) in Hollywood, American students desperately need more world history. Our kids are the least knowledgeable among students globally about international affairs and world history. Make the additional world history credits mandatory. Keep the African- American credits elective -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Well we're going to talk much more about this, as you said, in the next hour of DAYBREAK.

Here is what's all new, too, in that next hour.

Whatever happened to the don't ask, don't tell policy? Should gay Americans be allowed to serve openly in the U.S. military? There is a push to do that now. We'll take a look at the issue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is Thursday, June 16.

The casualty numbers are climbing, President Bush is shifting strategies and Democrats in Washington want to know how

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 16, 2005 - 05:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK.
Coming up in the next 30 minutes, finally some answers on the controversial death of Terri Schiavo. The autopsy's findings may surprise you.

And she came to Washington to talk about the world's refugee crisis. We'll hear from Angelina Jolie later in the show.

But first, "Now in the News."

A hostage crisis at an international school in Cambodia came to an end just about 90 minutes ago. A 5-year-old Canadian girl was killed by one of the gunmen who had held dozens of children hostage for six hours. Police killed two hostage takers and took two others into custody.

Car bomb goes off in the Iraqi capital wounding six people. Five of them were Iraqi police on patrol. A police captain says the car was parked on a street and detonated by remote control.

Investigators probing the now defunct U.N. Oil-For-Food program are scrutinizing a newly released memo. Points to a possible communication between Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Swiss company that employed his son and won a lucrative inspection contract.

Police in Aruba search the home of a judge and his teenage son who is under arrest in the case of missing teen Natalee Holloway. Two cars and some bags full of items were taken from the home.

To the Forecast Center and, Chad, good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: Thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: OK.

COSTELLO: Topping the news this half-hour, some lawmakers want to close the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay. Human rights groups have criticized the treatment of the more than 500 al Qaeda suspects there. But at Senate hearings, U.S. military and Justice Department officials defended the camp.

CNN's Ed Henry has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a tale of two prisons with Democrats calling Guantanamo an international embarrassment, while Republicans insisted the detention center is vital to the war on terror.

SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R-AL), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Now this country is not systematically abusing prisoners. We have no policy to do so and it's wrong to suggest that. And it puts our soldiers at risk who are in this battle because we sent them there, and we have an obligation to them.

HENRY: Republicans continued to hammer the theme that detainees actually have it pretty good. With Sessions saying the prison is in such a scenic part of Cuba, it would make a magnificent resort. That followed Republican Duncan Hunter's media event on Monday in which he contended the prisoners are well fed.

REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R-CA), ARMED SERVICES CHAIRMAN: This is lemon fish. And this is what the 20th hijacker and Osama bin Laden's bodyguards will be eating this week.

HENRY: Democrats scoffed at that, charging Guantanamo is really just a legal black hole for the 520 detainees.

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Producing props of chicken dinners and such, seeming to argue this is more a Club Med than a prison. Let's get real.

HENRY: Democrats stepped up their efforts to shut the prison down altogether, but the committee chairman echoed Vice President Cheney by suggesting it would be unwise to simply release the suspected terrorists.

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), JUDICIARY CHAIRMAN: And we ought to be as sure as we can what steps are being taken so that we do not release detainees from Guantanamo who turn up on battlefields killing Americans.

HENRY: But some detainees have languished in the prison for three years without facing any charges. If they're really terrorists, say Democrats, charge them with crimes.

LEAHY: If that's true, if they pose a threat to us, then there has to be evidence to support that or our administration would not tell the world that. And if there's evidence, then let's prosecute them, let's bring the evidence forward.

HENRY (on camera): But a top Justice Department official testified that the Bush administration believes legally it can keep these detainees in perpetuity.

Ed Henry, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: At one point during the hearing, Senator Dick Durbin had some strong words about the treatment of prisoners at Gitmo. The Democrat from Illinois compared the actions of American soldiers at Guantanamo to Nazis or Soviets at their gulags. Durbin says he has no intention of apologizing for these comments.

In a statement he said -- quote -- "This administration should apologize to the American people for abandoning the Geneva Conventions and authorizing torture techniques that put our troops at risk and make Americans less secure."

A newly released memo is raising more questions this morning about U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's possible role in Iraq's Oil- For-Food program. The author of that 1998 memo denies that he lobbied Annan to award the contract to the Swiss company where both he and Annan's son, Kojo, worked.

But the memo by the company's vice president reads in part, we had brief discussions with the Secretary-General and his entourage, and we could count on their support. A week after that e-mail was sent, the company won the contract with the lowest bid. But representatives for Kofi Annan and the company's former vice president say that 1998 meeting never happened. Investigators say they are urgently reviewing the memo.

In news "Across America" now, dozens of homes in Yuma, Arizona remain empty after a Marine Harrier jet crashed in a residential neighborhood. The residents were evacuated while bomb disposal units removed the plane's munitions, which included four 500-pound bombs. The pilot safely ejected, but one person on the ground was injured. Cause of the crash still under investigation.

A Texas judge has sentenced former Baylor basketball player Carlton Dotson to 35 years in prison. Dotson pleaded guilty last week in the murder of his best friend and teammate Patrick Dennehy. Dennehy was missing for six weeks before his body was found in a field near the university.

Two of the police officers in this video have been fired from the Dillon, South Carolina police force. A camera in the patrol car caught officers beating and kicking a suspect during a traffic stop on June 5. The video evidence have led prosecutors to seek assault charges against at least one of these officers.

Nearly three months after her death we finally have a follow-up on the results of Terri Schiavo's autopsy. While some questions were answered, the controversy over her life and death remains.

CNN's Mary Snow has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Medical examiners who performed the autopsy on Terri Schiavo said her brain was roughly half the size of what would be considered normal.

DR. JON THOGMARTIN, MEDICAL EXAMINER: Mrs. Schiavo suffered a severe anoxic brain injury. In other words, her brain suffered damage from lack of blood flow and oxygen.

SNOW: The medical examiner and his team concluded no amount of therapy would have reversed her condition. Reacting to the report, Michael Schiavo was described by his attorney as being pleased with the evidence. Michael Schiavo had contended that his wife was in a persistent vegetative state and that was why he wanted to remove her feeding tube and let her die.

THOGMARTIN: Was Mrs. Schiavo in a persistent vegetative state?

SNOW: For that key question, the medical examiner had no answer.

Her parents disputed that she was in a vegetative state and alleged Michael Schiavo abused her.

GEORGE FELOS, MICHAEL SCHIAVO'S ATTORNEY: For years and years the courts have found that there was no abuse of Terri, no evidence of abuse and that's what the medical examiner found.

SNOW: But Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, are not satisfied. The autopsy report did not determine why Terri Schiavo initially collapsed in 1990 and lost consciousness. Doctors say they found no signs of abuse or trauma. The Schindlers' attorney questions what he calls an unexplained gap in 1990 between the time Terri Schiavo collapsed and when her husband dialed 911.

DAVID GIBBS, SCHINDLERS' ATTORNEY: I think this 70-minute time period, when all of this brain injury, when the blood flow is stopped, is very significant. And I would want to know -- and Michael Schiavo was the only person who was there.

SNOW: Michael Schiavo's attorney calls the claim of a time gap baseless.

Another conclusion of the medical examiner: Terri Schiavo was totally blind.

THOGMARTIN: Her vision centers of her brain were dead.

SNOW: Michael Schiavo's attorney said that's significant, saying it shows that Terri Schiavo could not see her mother in what became a widely watched video of Terri Schiavo and her mother in 2002. It had been released by the Schindlers to prove their daughter was responsive. An attorney for the Schindlers acknowledged Terri Schiavo was visually impaired, but did not concede she was totally blind.

As for what ultimately caused Terri Schiavo's death: she did not starve to death, it was dehydration.

Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, the U.S. Open tees off in Pinehurst, North Carolina. We'll take a look at who might be on top of the leader board.

But first, a look at what else is making news this Thursday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Golf.

MYERS: Yes, hot golf today.

COSTELLO: Hot golf today, you're right. Tiger Woods looks to make it to two -- make it two majors in a row when the U.S. Open gets under way later this morning.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: And how hot will it be in North Carolina?

MYERS: Ninety-one -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Ninety-one.

MYERS: And for you golfers out there, number 10, number 10 is 601 yard par 5.

COSTELLO: Wow!

MYERS: Which is probably still reachable for some guys. But for us stuffers (ph), that's...

COSTELLO: I'm sure it is for Tiger Woods.

MYERS: ... six shots for me to get on the green.

COSTELLO: I think that would be about 25 for me.

Here is CNN's Mark McKay. He has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Golfers endured one final day of practice on Wednesday ahead of the start of the 105th United States Open. It is supposed to be a relaxed atmosphere on the day before a major, but it's been anything but, with searing temperatures and a temperamental course putting extra pressure on the players.

The good news is the weather should be cooler by the weekend, but in all likelihood it will remain dry, making this challenging layout even more of a test for the world's top players. When talking to many of them, three topics in particular come up when breaking down Pinehurst number two: thick rough, deep bunkers and unforgiving greens. It all has the potential to be a major pain. VIJAY SINGH, 3-TIME MAJOR CHAMPION: I think this is the hottest year southern (ph) golf course I've played, from tee to green and around the greens. So it's going to be one hell of a test.

TIGER WOODS, 9-TIME MAJOR CHAMPION: Unfortunately, it's going to require a little bit of luck this week and see what kind of bounces you get. But then again, premium is always on ball striking at a U.S.G.A. and more so here. I mean you have to hit the ball well, put the ball on the green and have it stay on the green.

RETIEF GOOSEN, 2-TIME U.S. OPEN CHAMPION: You'll probably have somebody in the first couple of rounds leading that nobody has heard of. And then on the weekend, the better players seem to just rise to the top.

MCKAY: Now Retief Goosen wasn't particularly fond of Pinehurst number two the first time he played it. And understandably so, he missed the cut in 1999. The South African now is trying to become the first back-to-back U.S. Open champion in 16 years.

Mark McKay, CNN, Pinehurst, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Now, you're laughing. I see you laughing.

MYERS: I would love to be there. It'd be awesome.

COSTELLO: Me too, but you have to work.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Follow-up to a story we told you about yesterday. The New York Yankees, they're getting a new stadium. You're taking a look at the old one now.

MYERS: Is no one else inflamed about this?

COSTELLO: You know...

MYERS: You can't knock down Yankee Stadium.

COSTELLO: Well supposedly the new stadium is going to be built right next door. It'll still be in the Bronx and it'll be a better stadium -- Chad.

MYERS: You can't knock down Wrigley Field either.

COSTELLO: Well listen to this. This is from "The New York Post." It says the blockbuster new stadium will feature some details from the original 1923 "House That Ruth Built," including a limestone facade, the return of the bullpens to right field and improve sight lines that will even make the action visible from the concession stand. So that's pretty good.

MYERS: They have that at Turner Field. It's pretty phenomenal, actually.

COSTELLO: It's cool.

MYERS: The mezzanine is what they call it. And there's a very large area where you can stand out, talk to friends, not interrupt everybody else who just wants to sit and watch the game. And you can see the game from up there. That might be pretty cool.

COSTELLO: Exactly, $800 million, that's the price tag. The new park will also roughly triple the number of luxury boxes to 50 or 60, which of course makes a lot of money for George Steinbrenner.

MYERS: Cha-ching.

COSTELLO: I'm sure he'll reap back that $800 million very quickly. All right.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:47 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

In Cambodia, a hostage standoff at a school ended with one 5- year-old student and two armed bandits dead. Two other gunmen, described by police as drug addicts, were captured. More than 50 students and teachers at the school were held hostage during this standoff.

The trial for an 80-year-old man accused of killing three civil rights workers 41 years ago is under way. Prosecutors say Edgar Ray Killen was the mastermind behind the murders depicted in the movie "Mississippi Burning."

In money news, biotech company Chiron is lowering its expected earnings forecast for this year. The company says it will not produce as much flu vaccine as previously stated.

In culture, a more high-tech Teddy Ruxpin. That's a scary- looking bear, isn't it? Remember this, Chad, it was an animated stuffed bear?

MYERS: Yes, yes, yes, of course.

COSTELLO: It's been updated with digital technology and will be available beginning in September.

Are you getting one for your little baby boy?

MYERS: Well Grant doesn't need that.

COSTELLO: Grant doesn't need that.

MYERS: He'll just chew his eyes off.

COSTELLO: Kind of looks like it's the size of Grant.

MYERS: Could be. He's 20 pounds now.

COSTELLO: He's big.

In sports, it's a rout. The Florida Marlins beat the Chicago Cubs 15 to 5. Florida's Miguel Cabrera went three for six with a home run and three RBIs -- Chad.

MYERS: Yes, Wrigley Field didn't look so good yesterday, did it?

COSTELLO: No.

MYERS: Fifteen to five.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: That's a look at the latest headlines for you.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, "Mrs. Smith" goes to Washington, but Angelina Jolie is not promoting her movie. We'll take a look at her worthy cause.

And don't forget our e-mail "Question of the Morning," should African-American studies be required learning for high school students? We want to hear from you this morning, DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's a quote -- "I could have blown Prince Harry to bits." That is the claim of a newspaper reporter in London. Get this, the journalist, with a fake bomb, says he breached security at Harry's elite military school. He says he wandered the grounds of Sandhurst for seven hours.

Look, he even took a hidden video camera inside. There he is walking up the steps. "The Sun" newspaper reports Harry, Prince Harry, was there at the time. Hopefully we'll see Prince Harry in the video. That's not him.

The British Defense Ministry is quite upset about this and that they have launched an investigation right now to see how this possibly could have happened.

I guess we're not going to see Prince Harry.

Actress Angelina Jolie, make that diplomat Angelina Jolie, went to Washington for the World Refugee celebration. Jolie and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice kicked off the ceremony leading up to World Refugee Day on Monday. The Oscar winner has become the face of hope to the world's poor.

Andrea Koppel has more for you.

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ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With her latest movie a box office smash, the real life "Mrs. Smith" came to Washington. But unlike the character she plays on screen, Angelina Jolie used her passion, not her punches, to win over this audience.

ANGELINA JOLIE, UNHCR GOODWILL AMBASSADOR: The people we speak about today are no different from us. And in fact they are us, and often they are the best of us.

KOPPEL: The people Jolie is talking about are an estimated 17 million refugees around the world. Last year the U.S. resettled 52,000 of them and contributed over $250 million to the U.N.'s work with refugees. A good start, said Jolie, but still not enough.

JOLIE: As much as America gives the most, they say -- can say they give the most money. When it's the percentage of what we have that we give, we actually give the least.

KOPPEL: For the last four years, the Oscar winning Jolie has left Hollywood's red carpet far behind and in between filming movies, traveled to refugee camps around the world as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Refugee Agency.

As art sometimes imitates life, for Jolie it was her role as an international aid worker in the movie "Beyond Borders" which inspired her to get involved.

In an interview with CNN, Jolie remembered the first time she saw a child die in a refugee camp.

JOLIE: And you know it was my first trip and my first moment and my thought was, being somebody from the states and had a bit of money, I thought well we'll just airlift him and take him to the hospital. And I can solve this in a second.

And then you suddenly would sound -- you know there's that moment where you look around and you realize that there are you know hundreds of thousands of people in the exact same situation and that a lot of these kids were going to die. And then I went home and I thought I should have at least taken one. And I'll always kick myself for not trying with just that one.

KOPPEL: A few years ago Jolie did adopt a Cambodian child, Maddox. And says she hopes to adopt again soon, perhaps from Africa.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: You know I was walking the streets of New York one day and I saw a young woman crossing the street with a beautiful child. She was carrying him. And you were so intent on looking at the child, because the child was so cute, and it was Angelina Jolie.

MYERS: Really?

COSTELLO: It was cool. She's a good mom. Yes.

But it's time to get to our e-mail segment of the day. We're asking an interesting question this morning, should African-American studies be required in high school? Philadelphia has just done that. It's requiring freshman to take a year's worth of African-American history only and then sophomore, junior, senior year they'll take the rest of their history courses. So we want to know what you think.

MYERS: And we're going to get into this more, actually, with the Philadelphia school system in the next hour.

Joe (ph) in Studio City, African-American history is American history. Of course it should be in the curriculum.

Easy for me to say.

COSTELLO: Curriculum.

MYERS: Yes, that's the word.

No, I'm not sure it should be offered in public schools unless we also offer history of all the groups in our country. That's from Kurt (ph).

If blacks were included in American history, again back to that American history thing, to reflect the accomplishments other than that related to slavery, this would never and should have never been required. For example, most whites know nothing about Dory Miller or who he was, Navy guy, got the Naval Cross for Pearl Harbor. How many of you would know the accomplishments of Dr. Charles Drew or even who he was? These are only examples.

And Justin (ph) in Hollywood, American students desperately need more world history. Our kids are the least knowledgeable among students globally about international affairs and world history. Make the additional world history credits mandatory. Keep the African- American credits elective -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Well we're going to talk much more about this, as you said, in the next hour of DAYBREAK.

Here is what's all new, too, in that next hour.

Whatever happened to the don't ask, don't tell policy? Should gay Americans be allowed to serve openly in the U.S. military? There is a push to do that now. We'll take a look at the issue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is Thursday, June 16.

The casualty numbers are climbing, President Bush is shifting strategies and Democrats in Washington want to know how

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