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American Morning

Military Jet Carrying Bombs Crashes into Arizona Neighborhood; U.S. Casualties in Town of Ramadi

Aired June 16, 2005 - 07:00   ET

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

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


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Bill Hemmer.
They are going back home after a military jet carrying bombs crashes into an Arizona neighborhood. The pilot's out alive. He's OK. But what about the bombs on board? Complete coverage ahead on that story.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Soledad O'Brien.

U.S. casualties in the dangerous town of Ramadi. The military death toll now above 1,700.

HEMMER: From Aruba, police are back at the home of that Dutch teenager suspected in the Natalee Holloway case. This as we way wait for a key court ruling on this AMERICAN MORNING.

O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Those stories and much more to talk about this morning.

HEMMER: A lot happening. First, though, a developing story out of Southeast Asia we want to get to first. A hostage standoff ending just a few hours ago at an international school for children. It happened in Siem Reap. That's in Cambodia near the famous and ancient Angkor Wat Temple. Fifty elementary students held captive at one point. Police say one child was shot, one killed by one of the gunmen.

Aneesh Raman is in the region. He joins us now.

What do we know, Aneesh?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, essentially we know that this six hour you say hostage standoff that began when four masked militants commandeered that international school in Siem Reap, and ended with a Canadian child dead, now has all four hostage takers wounded but in police custody. This was an elementary school. The children between the ages of two and six of various nationalities. Siem Reap home to a large number of expatriates in the tourism industry.

The big question, Bill, this morning now is why? What was the motive? Speculation early on, it was political aggression against the government, looking to cripple the tourist industry in Siem Reap. The prime minister Hun Sen, though, saying that this was nothing more than small-time criminals looking to just make some money -- Bill.

HEMMER: Aneesh Raman from Bangkok with the latest there -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Now to Arizona and that military crash. Investigators are trying to determine why a Harrier jet on a routine training run went down in a heavy populated area of Yuma, Arizona, near the borders of Mexico and California. The plane crashed while it was loaded with live weaponry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: The scene was captured on videotape. A Marine Harrier jet returning to the Yuma Marines corps air station crashing into a residential neighborhood, coming to rest very close to a number of homes. Military officials say the plane had been on a training mission and was still loaded with live ordinance. Four 500-pound bombs and 300 rounds of 25-millimeter ammunition. That prompted authorities to evacuate some 1,300 residents near the crash site.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Been evacuated from my home, from my friend's home, and now here waiting for a friend to pick me up.

O'BRIEN: The pilot ejected a mile before the plane went down, sufferingly only minor injuries. Incredibly no one on the ground was killed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Most of the evacuated residents have been allowed to return to their homes. You saw some of that dramatic videotape. A little bit later this morning, we're going to talk to the eyewitness who took those pictures about just what he had saw -- Bill.

HEMMER: Now to the latest from Iraq, Soledad. Insurgents stepping up the violence today in that country. In Mosul, northern part of Iraq, gunmen assassinated the city's chief judge of criminal courts. He and his driver were killed in a drive-by shooting on their way to work today.

In Kirkuk, also a car bomb at the gate of a state-run oil company kills four Iraqi police officers.

And insurgents remotely detonate a car bomb in Baghdad, wounding five Iraqi soldiers on patrol there. One Iraqi civilian was also injured.

Also, from Wednesday, five Marines were killed in Ramadi when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. In a separate incident in that town a U.S. sailor was shot to death during a combat operation.

And that freed Australian hostage Douglas Wood is leaving Iraq today. Iraqi troops rescued the civilian contractor on Wednesday, and he has been in high spirits ever since, asking for a beer and a sports update after his rescue. Wood described what happened when troops stormed the place where he was being held.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DOUGLAS WOOD, FREED HOSTAGE: Well, I wasn't sure what was happening. First thing is a bit of shooting outside, and then they came in and covered me with a blanket. They ripped off my -- put a blanket over me, and then there was still a lot of yelling and screaming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's when they were busting in?

WOOD: Yes. Then a gun actually fired inside the room. That was a bit scary. But I heard my fellow patient still -- who he was -- still alive, and I'm still alive. (INAUDIBLE) take the blanket off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good day.

WOOD: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Good day indeed.

Woods was held captive for 47 days. His captors were detained. Also an Iraqi hostage freed during that raid -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: A blow to President Bush by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The House passed a measure on Wednesday that would limit the powers of the Patriot Act. The measure now goes to the Senate.

CNN's Elaine Quijano live for us at the White House this morning, where there are already hints of a presidential veto.

Elaine, good morning to you.

What's the word today?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

That's right. Well, well before this vote yesterday, the Bush administration had signaled that the president would likely veto any bill that he believed would weaken the Patriot Act. And in fact, this amendment passed by the Republican-controlled house would restrict the FBI's ability to search through library and bookstore records.

Now supporters are praising the move, saying the government should not be able to look at what ordinary citizens are reading. But the Bush administration has argued there are safeguards to protect privacy, and they say that investigative power is an important tool in the hunt for terrorists.

In fact, the president himself has been campaigning for renewing provisions of the Patriot Act that are set to expire this year. This particular measure, however, now goes to the Senate. Unclear what might happen there -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano for us this morning at the White House. Elaine, thanks -- Bill. HEMMER: At least one key ruling expected later today in the case in Aruba rather, on those three suspects held in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. The three young men were also in court on Wednesday.

John Zarrella's live with the latest on an investigation. What do we expect today, John.

Good morning there.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Good morning, Bill.

Well, despite all of that, the mystery over what happened to Natalee Holloway continues here, and so does the search. A couple days ago, folks remember, they searched a beach area about a mile and a half from where we are at the Holiday Inn.

And yesterday authorities returned to the home of one of the three young men being held in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZARRELLA (voice-over): Police investigators spent several hours at the home of 17-year-old Joran Van Der Sloot. He is one of the three young men being held in connection with the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. Investigators taped off portions of the property and searched around and in the house, but have not said what they were looking for. The search came after the three men appeared in court, but was not tied to that proceeding.

At the hearing, the attorney for Depak Kalpoe, one of the two Surinamese brothers being held, asked the court to release documents and evidence.

RUDY OOMEN, DEEPAK KALPOE'S ATTY.: We had a brief hearing here about the withholding of certain documents regarding my client, documents related to the case.

If I knew, I would tell you. I don't know.

(CROSSTALK)

OOMEN: That's what happened.

QUESTION: So what do you say to the security guards who are out, or telling stories about your clients?

OOMEN: I'm not saying anything else. I'm just saying that my client maintains his innocence of any crime.

ZARRELLA: The attorney representing Van Der Sloot, the son of an Aruban judge, asked the court to allow his client's father to visit him. A decision on that request is also expected today.

Van Der Sloot, Depak Kalpoe and his brother, Satish, are believed to be the last three people with Natalee Holloway on the night she disappeared. The brothers initially told police all three of them went to the lighthouse with Holloway, and Van Der Sloot was kissing her in the car.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Now, it appears certainly that the focus of the investigation has narrowed to the three young men who are in custody, and it seems, Bill, that every day there is, if not some new real strong development, at least investigators are pursuing more and more leads -- Bill.

HEMMER: At the outset I mentioned this court hearing from yesterday. Any charges yet to be filed against these three men, John?

ZARRELLA: No. In fact, no charges were charged against any of the people. The only thing that's been filed are what's called formal accusations. The three young men have been accused of murder, manslaughter and the kidnapping with fatal results of Natalee Holloway, but they have not been charged with the crime.

HEMMER: All right, John, thanks. In Palm Beach, Aruba, John Zarrella this morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: In a moment here, a race against time. Doctors keeping a brain dead woman alive so her unborn child can survive. Her husband joins us today to talk about that struggle.

O'BRIEN: Also, the new Medicare drug benefit supposed to cut costs, but could it drive up insurance premiums in the long run? We'll take a look at that.

HEMMER: And the multibillion dollar fight over a town for the wealthy. It is the biggest Native American land claim ever. And that's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: The autopsy results are in, but debate over the life and death of Terri Schiavo goes on.

Here's CNN's Susan Candiotti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Doctors say the autopsy didn't show why a heart healthy Terri Schiavo suddenly collapsed 15 years ago.

DR. JOHN THOGMARTIN, MEDICAL EXAMINER: Her brain suffered damage from lack of blood flow and oxygen. The cause of which cannot be determined with reasonable medical certainty.

CANDIOTTI: The chief medical examiner says Schiavo's brain injuries were beyond repair.

THOGMARTIN: The brain weighed 615 grams, roughly half of the expected weight of a human brain. This was due to diffused hypoxic eskemic damage. There was massive neuronal loss or death. This damage was irreversalable. And no amount of therapy or treatment would have generated the massive loss of neurons.

CANDIOTTI: After years of accusations that Terri Schiavo's husband may have physically attacked her, an autopsy also laid that to rest.

THOGMARTIN: No evidence of strangulation was found. No evidence of trauma, whatsoever, was noted by the physicians during her initial hospitalization.

CANDIOTTI: Pathologists say the young woman may have been dieting, but nothing in the autopsy turned up hard evidence of eating disorders or drugs that could have caused her heart to stop at age 26. Though it's been claimed that home videos show Terri Schiavo making eye contact with her family, doctors call it impossible.

THOGMARTIN: Her vision centers of her brain were dead. Therefore, Mrs. Schiavo had what's called corticol blindness. She was blind, could not see.

CANDIOTTI: Pathologists don't rule out some rudimentary interaction with her family. But say it's unlikely given the extent of Schiavo's brain damage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're certainly not saying that's impossible. There's nothing in her autopsy report, in her autopsy, that is inconsistent with persistent vegetative state.

CANDIOTTI: Among those anxious to hear Terri Schiavo's autopsy results.

SGT. PHIL BREWER, POLICE: This was just one more call at the time.

CANDIOTTI: Former patrolman who rushed to her apartment 15 years ago for a medical emergency. Sergeant Phil Brewer questioned Michael Schiavo.

BREWER: He said that he either awakened to the sound of a thud or had just awakened and then heard a thud, thought his wife may have fallen.

CANDIOTTI: Since Terri Schiavo couldn't talk, the officer examined her body at the hospital and found no signs of violence.

(on camera): Do you think something criminal went on that night?

BREWER: I don't think anything criminal went on that night.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): The officer says he found Michael Schiavo credible. BREWER: I have nothing to indicate that he wasn't straight with me.

CANDIOTTI: What amazed pathologists is that Terri Schiavo survived at all that day 15 years ago.

THOGMARTIN: She went for really over an hour without really a blood pressure. And it's just a miracle that she was able to come back at all.

CANDIOTTI: Michael Schiavo had doctors pull his wife's feeding tube after a court agreed he was following her wishes. In the absence of food and water, the autopsy found Terri Schiavo died of dehydration, not starvation.

(on camera): Terri Schiavo was cremated in April. Her remains, according to a family member, are not buried yet. But for now, why her heart stopped beating so many years ago is a mystery.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Largo, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Now to another family in a similar agonizing situation. Susan Torres was just 17 weeks pregnant with her second child when she had a stroke on May 7th. She was declared brain dead. Her husband Jason is now in a race against time. He's trying to keep his wife from dying to give their baby a chance to live.

Jason Torres is in Washington D.C. this morning. It's nice to see you, Jason. Thank you very much for talking with us.

This is such a tough story. How are you doing? How are you holding up? You've had to make a lot of really difficult decisions.

JASON TORRES, PREGNANT WIFE IN COMA: Well, I don't know. I don't know how you're really supposed to hold up. I'd say we're doing the best we can.

O'BRIEN: Your wife Susan had been complaining of headaches, and I know you thought that was sort of normal pregnancy-related misery kind of, and then she collapsed. What did the doctors tell you at the hospital about what was wrong?

TORRES: Well, when we initially came in, they said that there was no brain function, and we found out a few days later that she had a melanoma, which had metastasized and moved to the brain. And that melanoma started to bleed, which caused the brain damage.

O'BRIEN: Have doctors said that there is no chance for Susan?

TORRES: Yes. The -- I would love divine intervention and have Susan come back, but right now we're just focused on trying to save the child.

O'BRIEN: The baby is 20 weeks along now. And can doctors tell if the baby is OK? It's possible that the melanoma could pass through the placenta, right?

TORRES: Yes. It turns out melanoma is one of the few cancers that can cross the placenta and be passed on to the child. But so far, it seems that our miracle is that it seems like a very normal pregnancy.

O'BRIEN: Doctors have picked a date that you're trying to get the baby to stay in utero, to make it to, so it will be healthy when the baby is delivered, and that's 26 weeks, which would be six weeks from now. How difficult -- was it a difficult decision to go ahead and continue with the pregnancy even in Susan's condition? It must have been brutal.

TORRES: Well, I mean, I hate and everyone hates to see Susan hooked up to machines and things like that, but when you're given a choice between trying to save your child's life and -- or giving up, you always try. Always.

O'BRIEN: You have a 2-year-old boy, who is at the age I'm sure where he's starting to ask a lot of questions and figure some things out. What do you tell him about what's happened to his mom?

TORRES: Well, he looks around the house and he looks for her and asks about her, and all you can say really is she's at the hospital sleeping, and really he's done better than I thought, than I thought he would. And I think it's just because I have a lot of family and a lot of friends, and they've all been very supportive, and they have been a shoulder for both of us to lean on.

O'BRIEN: As you mentioned, you've been incredibly lucky in the sense that you've made it to 20 weeks and it looks like the baby is healthy. I think they can tell by ultrasound, right? That's how they're monitoring?

TORRES: Uh-huh.

O'BRIEN: What do you do if at -- if before the deadline date, the 26 weeks, it looks like the cancer is starting to cross the placenta?

TORRES: That -- it's a bridge that will have to be crossed when we get there, but I think the earliest that a premie has survived is 19 weeks, and every week after that your chances get a lot better. So basically from this point on, if anything were to happen to Susan, you'd try and save the child, you know, go in and remove the child from the womb and see what you can do. But really, you want to keep the child in the womb as long as possible.

O'BRIEN: We're certainly pulling for you.

Jason Torres, thanks for talking to us. And the best of luck to you -- Bill.

TORRES: Thank you. Thank you very much.

HEMMER: Very best. Soledad, thanks. Twenty-one minutes now past the hour.

Let's get a break here in a moment. We're "Minding Your Business," where a potential strike threatens to make matters worse for a troubled U.S. carmaker. We'll get to that story next here, after a break on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

Workers are threatening to walk off the job if GM does not soften cutbacks in benefits. Gerri Willis is in for Andy Serwer, and she is "Minding Your Business" this morning.

This is a huge problem because of the implications, of course.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No kidding, Soledad. Big story today. We told you earlier this week that GM's trying to cut its health care costs for employees, which amounts to something like $1,500 per vehicle. Now according to published reports, we have details on what they're requiring. Look at these numbers, 2005 GM wants to cut a billion dollars in health care costs, the same number in 2006. Their current annual costs for health care for employees, $5.6 billion.

Now the UAW is saying this is completely unrealistic, that it can't be done, and that they may strike.

O'BRIEN: What would happen if there's a big strike? I mean, give me a picture of what that paints for the industry?

WILLIS: Big problems for GM, which is already reeling. So you can imagine they already have big financial problems, and then no revenues. So it could create big problems for them. According to "The Wall Street Journal" today Soledad, GM is saying that it will unilaterally cut benefits for retirees if they don't get what they want.

O'BRIEN: Give me a look at the markets this morning. What are we thinking about?

WILLIS: We're seeing the futures higher. We're looking at some numbers on housing, could be some good news for the markets. We'll see later.

O'BRIEN: All right, we'll take a look.

Gerri, thank you very much -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Soledad.

Southampton is known as a play ground for many of America's wealthiest families, a town on the eastern end of Long Island. But the Shinnecock Indian tribe says the land in that town out on Long Island is theirs, and they want billions of dollars for it. The tribe says the land beneath multimillion-dollar homes, the Southampton College campus, and the famed Shinnecock Hills golf course all stolen from the tribe back in 1859. The tribe says it doesn't want the land back; it just wants fair market value and back rent for the past 150 years.

The Shinnecock tribe suing now for at least $1.7 billion. Their legal challenge is being funded by a pair of casino investors, and an option to build a casino is also on the table.

Listen here. Apologize for that. That was a spokesperson for the tribe, said to be the largest Indian land claim ever filed, and legal experts are calling the lawsuit a longshot, because the tribe is not recognized by the federal government. The story will continue.

Also in a moment here, does the new Medicare drug benefit deliver what it promises? Could it actually lead to an increase in premiums for the beneficiaries, too. We're live at the White House for some answers on that story after a quick break here. Twenty-seven minutes past the hour on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired June 16, 2005 - 07:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Bill Hemmer.
They are going back home after a military jet carrying bombs crashes into an Arizona neighborhood. The pilot's out alive. He's OK. But what about the bombs on board? Complete coverage ahead on that story.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Soledad O'Brien.

U.S. casualties in the dangerous town of Ramadi. The military death toll now above 1,700.

HEMMER: From Aruba, police are back at the home of that Dutch teenager suspected in the Natalee Holloway case. This as we way wait for a key court ruling on this AMERICAN MORNING.

O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Those stories and much more to talk about this morning.

HEMMER: A lot happening. First, though, a developing story out of Southeast Asia we want to get to first. A hostage standoff ending just a few hours ago at an international school for children. It happened in Siem Reap. That's in Cambodia near the famous and ancient Angkor Wat Temple. Fifty elementary students held captive at one point. Police say one child was shot, one killed by one of the gunmen.

Aneesh Raman is in the region. He joins us now.

What do we know, Aneesh?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, essentially we know that this six hour you say hostage standoff that began when four masked militants commandeered that international school in Siem Reap, and ended with a Canadian child dead, now has all four hostage takers wounded but in police custody. This was an elementary school. The children between the ages of two and six of various nationalities. Siem Reap home to a large number of expatriates in the tourism industry.

The big question, Bill, this morning now is why? What was the motive? Speculation early on, it was political aggression against the government, looking to cripple the tourist industry in Siem Reap. The prime minister Hun Sen, though, saying that this was nothing more than small-time criminals looking to just make some money -- Bill.

HEMMER: Aneesh Raman from Bangkok with the latest there -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Now to Arizona and that military crash. Investigators are trying to determine why a Harrier jet on a routine training run went down in a heavy populated area of Yuma, Arizona, near the borders of Mexico and California. The plane crashed while it was loaded with live weaponry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: The scene was captured on videotape. A Marine Harrier jet returning to the Yuma Marines corps air station crashing into a residential neighborhood, coming to rest very close to a number of homes. Military officials say the plane had been on a training mission and was still loaded with live ordinance. Four 500-pound bombs and 300 rounds of 25-millimeter ammunition. That prompted authorities to evacuate some 1,300 residents near the crash site.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Been evacuated from my home, from my friend's home, and now here waiting for a friend to pick me up.

O'BRIEN: The pilot ejected a mile before the plane went down, sufferingly only minor injuries. Incredibly no one on the ground was killed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Most of the evacuated residents have been allowed to return to their homes. You saw some of that dramatic videotape. A little bit later this morning, we're going to talk to the eyewitness who took those pictures about just what he had saw -- Bill.

HEMMER: Now to the latest from Iraq, Soledad. Insurgents stepping up the violence today in that country. In Mosul, northern part of Iraq, gunmen assassinated the city's chief judge of criminal courts. He and his driver were killed in a drive-by shooting on their way to work today.

In Kirkuk, also a car bomb at the gate of a state-run oil company kills four Iraqi police officers.

And insurgents remotely detonate a car bomb in Baghdad, wounding five Iraqi soldiers on patrol there. One Iraqi civilian was also injured.

Also, from Wednesday, five Marines were killed in Ramadi when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. In a separate incident in that town a U.S. sailor was shot to death during a combat operation.

And that freed Australian hostage Douglas Wood is leaving Iraq today. Iraqi troops rescued the civilian contractor on Wednesday, and he has been in high spirits ever since, asking for a beer and a sports update after his rescue. Wood described what happened when troops stormed the place where he was being held.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DOUGLAS WOOD, FREED HOSTAGE: Well, I wasn't sure what was happening. First thing is a bit of shooting outside, and then they came in and covered me with a blanket. They ripped off my -- put a blanket over me, and then there was still a lot of yelling and screaming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's when they were busting in?

WOOD: Yes. Then a gun actually fired inside the room. That was a bit scary. But I heard my fellow patient still -- who he was -- still alive, and I'm still alive. (INAUDIBLE) take the blanket off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good day.

WOOD: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Good day indeed.

Woods was held captive for 47 days. His captors were detained. Also an Iraqi hostage freed during that raid -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: A blow to President Bush by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The House passed a measure on Wednesday that would limit the powers of the Patriot Act. The measure now goes to the Senate.

CNN's Elaine Quijano live for us at the White House this morning, where there are already hints of a presidential veto.

Elaine, good morning to you.

What's the word today?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

That's right. Well, well before this vote yesterday, the Bush administration had signaled that the president would likely veto any bill that he believed would weaken the Patriot Act. And in fact, this amendment passed by the Republican-controlled house would restrict the FBI's ability to search through library and bookstore records.

Now supporters are praising the move, saying the government should not be able to look at what ordinary citizens are reading. But the Bush administration has argued there are safeguards to protect privacy, and they say that investigative power is an important tool in the hunt for terrorists.

In fact, the president himself has been campaigning for renewing provisions of the Patriot Act that are set to expire this year. This particular measure, however, now goes to the Senate. Unclear what might happen there -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano for us this morning at the White House. Elaine, thanks -- Bill. HEMMER: At least one key ruling expected later today in the case in Aruba rather, on those three suspects held in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. The three young men were also in court on Wednesday.

John Zarrella's live with the latest on an investigation. What do we expect today, John.

Good morning there.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Good morning, Bill.

Well, despite all of that, the mystery over what happened to Natalee Holloway continues here, and so does the search. A couple days ago, folks remember, they searched a beach area about a mile and a half from where we are at the Holiday Inn.

And yesterday authorities returned to the home of one of the three young men being held in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZARRELLA (voice-over): Police investigators spent several hours at the home of 17-year-old Joran Van Der Sloot. He is one of the three young men being held in connection with the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. Investigators taped off portions of the property and searched around and in the house, but have not said what they were looking for. The search came after the three men appeared in court, but was not tied to that proceeding.

At the hearing, the attorney for Depak Kalpoe, one of the two Surinamese brothers being held, asked the court to release documents and evidence.

RUDY OOMEN, DEEPAK KALPOE'S ATTY.: We had a brief hearing here about the withholding of certain documents regarding my client, documents related to the case.

If I knew, I would tell you. I don't know.

(CROSSTALK)

OOMEN: That's what happened.

QUESTION: So what do you say to the security guards who are out, or telling stories about your clients?

OOMEN: I'm not saying anything else. I'm just saying that my client maintains his innocence of any crime.

ZARRELLA: The attorney representing Van Der Sloot, the son of an Aruban judge, asked the court to allow his client's father to visit him. A decision on that request is also expected today.

Van Der Sloot, Depak Kalpoe and his brother, Satish, are believed to be the last three people with Natalee Holloway on the night she disappeared. The brothers initially told police all three of them went to the lighthouse with Holloway, and Van Der Sloot was kissing her in the car.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Now, it appears certainly that the focus of the investigation has narrowed to the three young men who are in custody, and it seems, Bill, that every day there is, if not some new real strong development, at least investigators are pursuing more and more leads -- Bill.

HEMMER: At the outset I mentioned this court hearing from yesterday. Any charges yet to be filed against these three men, John?

ZARRELLA: No. In fact, no charges were charged against any of the people. The only thing that's been filed are what's called formal accusations. The three young men have been accused of murder, manslaughter and the kidnapping with fatal results of Natalee Holloway, but they have not been charged with the crime.

HEMMER: All right, John, thanks. In Palm Beach, Aruba, John Zarrella this morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: In a moment here, a race against time. Doctors keeping a brain dead woman alive so her unborn child can survive. Her husband joins us today to talk about that struggle.

O'BRIEN: Also, the new Medicare drug benefit supposed to cut costs, but could it drive up insurance premiums in the long run? We'll take a look at that.

HEMMER: And the multibillion dollar fight over a town for the wealthy. It is the biggest Native American land claim ever. And that's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: The autopsy results are in, but debate over the life and death of Terri Schiavo goes on.

Here's CNN's Susan Candiotti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Doctors say the autopsy didn't show why a heart healthy Terri Schiavo suddenly collapsed 15 years ago.

DR. JOHN THOGMARTIN, MEDICAL EXAMINER: Her brain suffered damage from lack of blood flow and oxygen. The cause of which cannot be determined with reasonable medical certainty.

CANDIOTTI: The chief medical examiner says Schiavo's brain injuries were beyond repair.

THOGMARTIN: The brain weighed 615 grams, roughly half of the expected weight of a human brain. This was due to diffused hypoxic eskemic damage. There was massive neuronal loss or death. This damage was irreversalable. And no amount of therapy or treatment would have generated the massive loss of neurons.

CANDIOTTI: After years of accusations that Terri Schiavo's husband may have physically attacked her, an autopsy also laid that to rest.

THOGMARTIN: No evidence of strangulation was found. No evidence of trauma, whatsoever, was noted by the physicians during her initial hospitalization.

CANDIOTTI: Pathologists say the young woman may have been dieting, but nothing in the autopsy turned up hard evidence of eating disorders or drugs that could have caused her heart to stop at age 26. Though it's been claimed that home videos show Terri Schiavo making eye contact with her family, doctors call it impossible.

THOGMARTIN: Her vision centers of her brain were dead. Therefore, Mrs. Schiavo had what's called corticol blindness. She was blind, could not see.

CANDIOTTI: Pathologists don't rule out some rudimentary interaction with her family. But say it's unlikely given the extent of Schiavo's brain damage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're certainly not saying that's impossible. There's nothing in her autopsy report, in her autopsy, that is inconsistent with persistent vegetative state.

CANDIOTTI: Among those anxious to hear Terri Schiavo's autopsy results.

SGT. PHIL BREWER, POLICE: This was just one more call at the time.

CANDIOTTI: Former patrolman who rushed to her apartment 15 years ago for a medical emergency. Sergeant Phil Brewer questioned Michael Schiavo.

BREWER: He said that he either awakened to the sound of a thud or had just awakened and then heard a thud, thought his wife may have fallen.

CANDIOTTI: Since Terri Schiavo couldn't talk, the officer examined her body at the hospital and found no signs of violence.

(on camera): Do you think something criminal went on that night?

BREWER: I don't think anything criminal went on that night.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): The officer says he found Michael Schiavo credible. BREWER: I have nothing to indicate that he wasn't straight with me.

CANDIOTTI: What amazed pathologists is that Terri Schiavo survived at all that day 15 years ago.

THOGMARTIN: She went for really over an hour without really a blood pressure. And it's just a miracle that she was able to come back at all.

CANDIOTTI: Michael Schiavo had doctors pull his wife's feeding tube after a court agreed he was following her wishes. In the absence of food and water, the autopsy found Terri Schiavo died of dehydration, not starvation.

(on camera): Terri Schiavo was cremated in April. Her remains, according to a family member, are not buried yet. But for now, why her heart stopped beating so many years ago is a mystery.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Largo, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Now to another family in a similar agonizing situation. Susan Torres was just 17 weeks pregnant with her second child when she had a stroke on May 7th. She was declared brain dead. Her husband Jason is now in a race against time. He's trying to keep his wife from dying to give their baby a chance to live.

Jason Torres is in Washington D.C. this morning. It's nice to see you, Jason. Thank you very much for talking with us.

This is such a tough story. How are you doing? How are you holding up? You've had to make a lot of really difficult decisions.

JASON TORRES, PREGNANT WIFE IN COMA: Well, I don't know. I don't know how you're really supposed to hold up. I'd say we're doing the best we can.

O'BRIEN: Your wife Susan had been complaining of headaches, and I know you thought that was sort of normal pregnancy-related misery kind of, and then she collapsed. What did the doctors tell you at the hospital about what was wrong?

TORRES: Well, when we initially came in, they said that there was no brain function, and we found out a few days later that she had a melanoma, which had metastasized and moved to the brain. And that melanoma started to bleed, which caused the brain damage.

O'BRIEN: Have doctors said that there is no chance for Susan?

TORRES: Yes. The -- I would love divine intervention and have Susan come back, but right now we're just focused on trying to save the child.

O'BRIEN: The baby is 20 weeks along now. And can doctors tell if the baby is OK? It's possible that the melanoma could pass through the placenta, right?

TORRES: Yes. It turns out melanoma is one of the few cancers that can cross the placenta and be passed on to the child. But so far, it seems that our miracle is that it seems like a very normal pregnancy.

O'BRIEN: Doctors have picked a date that you're trying to get the baby to stay in utero, to make it to, so it will be healthy when the baby is delivered, and that's 26 weeks, which would be six weeks from now. How difficult -- was it a difficult decision to go ahead and continue with the pregnancy even in Susan's condition? It must have been brutal.

TORRES: Well, I mean, I hate and everyone hates to see Susan hooked up to machines and things like that, but when you're given a choice between trying to save your child's life and -- or giving up, you always try. Always.

O'BRIEN: You have a 2-year-old boy, who is at the age I'm sure where he's starting to ask a lot of questions and figure some things out. What do you tell him about what's happened to his mom?

TORRES: Well, he looks around the house and he looks for her and asks about her, and all you can say really is she's at the hospital sleeping, and really he's done better than I thought, than I thought he would. And I think it's just because I have a lot of family and a lot of friends, and they've all been very supportive, and they have been a shoulder for both of us to lean on.

O'BRIEN: As you mentioned, you've been incredibly lucky in the sense that you've made it to 20 weeks and it looks like the baby is healthy. I think they can tell by ultrasound, right? That's how they're monitoring?

TORRES: Uh-huh.

O'BRIEN: What do you do if at -- if before the deadline date, the 26 weeks, it looks like the cancer is starting to cross the placenta?

TORRES: That -- it's a bridge that will have to be crossed when we get there, but I think the earliest that a premie has survived is 19 weeks, and every week after that your chances get a lot better. So basically from this point on, if anything were to happen to Susan, you'd try and save the child, you know, go in and remove the child from the womb and see what you can do. But really, you want to keep the child in the womb as long as possible.

O'BRIEN: We're certainly pulling for you.

Jason Torres, thanks for talking to us. And the best of luck to you -- Bill.

TORRES: Thank you. Thank you very much.

HEMMER: Very best. Soledad, thanks. Twenty-one minutes now past the hour.

Let's get a break here in a moment. We're "Minding Your Business," where a potential strike threatens to make matters worse for a troubled U.S. carmaker. We'll get to that story next here, after a break on AMERICAN MORNING.

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O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

Workers are threatening to walk off the job if GM does not soften cutbacks in benefits. Gerri Willis is in for Andy Serwer, and she is "Minding Your Business" this morning.

This is a huge problem because of the implications, of course.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No kidding, Soledad. Big story today. We told you earlier this week that GM's trying to cut its health care costs for employees, which amounts to something like $1,500 per vehicle. Now according to published reports, we have details on what they're requiring. Look at these numbers, 2005 GM wants to cut a billion dollars in health care costs, the same number in 2006. Their current annual costs for health care for employees, $5.6 billion.

Now the UAW is saying this is completely unrealistic, that it can't be done, and that they may strike.

O'BRIEN: What would happen if there's a big strike? I mean, give me a picture of what that paints for the industry?

WILLIS: Big problems for GM, which is already reeling. So you can imagine they already have big financial problems, and then no revenues. So it could create big problems for them. According to "The Wall Street Journal" today Soledad, GM is saying that it will unilaterally cut benefits for retirees if they don't get what they want.

O'BRIEN: Give me a look at the markets this morning. What are we thinking about?

WILLIS: We're seeing the futures higher. We're looking at some numbers on housing, could be some good news for the markets. We'll see later.

O'BRIEN: All right, we'll take a look.

Gerri, thank you very much -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Soledad.

Southampton is known as a play ground for many of America's wealthiest families, a town on the eastern end of Long Island. But the Shinnecock Indian tribe says the land in that town out on Long Island is theirs, and they want billions of dollars for it. The tribe says the land beneath multimillion-dollar homes, the Southampton College campus, and the famed Shinnecock Hills golf course all stolen from the tribe back in 1859. The tribe says it doesn't want the land back; it just wants fair market value and back rent for the past 150 years.

The Shinnecock tribe suing now for at least $1.7 billion. Their legal challenge is being funded by a pair of casino investors, and an option to build a casino is also on the table.

Listen here. Apologize for that. That was a spokesperson for the tribe, said to be the largest Indian land claim ever filed, and legal experts are calling the lawsuit a longshot, because the tribe is not recognized by the federal government. The story will continue.

Also in a moment here, does the new Medicare drug benefit deliver what it promises? Could it actually lead to an increase in premiums for the beneficiaries, too. We're live at the White House for some answers on that story after a quick break here. Twenty-seven minutes past the hour on AMERICAN MORNING.

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