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American Morning
Hostage Standoff in Cambodian School; Holloway Investigations Continue
Aired June 16, 2005 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: New pictures this hour from Cambodia, where gunmen today took over a local school. Children and teachers taken hostage and the military called in to break it up.
Police in Aruba returned to the home of a local judge. Cars and other items taken, possible evidence in the search for Natalee Holloway.
And raises in one Arizona community are returning home after a military jet slams into their neighborhood. The very latest on what went wrong on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: On a Thursday, 8:00 in New York.
Good morning, everybody.
Also ahead, we'll talk about the earthquakes this week, as in plural, all happening in the zone known as the ring of fire, out in the Pacific.
O'BRIEN: And, of course, many people are asking if they're connected and if that means that there are more earthquakes, and maybe bigger earthquakes, that are coming. We'll take a look at that this morning.
HEMMER: First, the headlines the top of the hour.
Back to Carol Costello with those -- good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Good morning to all of you.
Now in the news, two car bombs -- two car bomb attacks target Iraqi forces in Iraq. Five Iraqi soldiers were wounded in an explosion at the gate of an oil company in Kirkuk. In Baghdad, a car bomb wounded five Iraqi soldiers on patrol. And five U.S. Marines were killed on Wednesday by a roadside bomb in Ramadi. A sailor with the unit also died from small arms fire in a separate incident.
This month alone, nearly 50 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq.
In South Carolina, a former police officer facing charges after he was captured on videotape beating a suspect. The Dillon Police Department releasing this video. It shows Officer Donnie Grimsley hitting the suspect with a flashlight. Grimsley and other officers are also seen kicking and stomping the suspect as he pleads, "Please stop hitting me." He and another officer have since been fired.
Still no sign of pop star Michael Jackson since his acquittal. But one of his brothers says he is at peace and recovering from the ordeal. Jackson hasn't been seen since Monday, when a jury found him not guilty on all 10 counts in his molestation trial.
On CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE," Jermaine Jackson clarified some rumors surrounding his brother.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CNN'S "LARRY KING LIVE")
JERMAINE JACKSON, MICHAEL'S BROTHER: Michael does not sleep in the bed with children. Also, Michael's quarters at his ranch is the size of a 2,000 or more square foot condo, OK? And at the same time, Michael does not sleep in the bed with children. So that was the misunderstanding that everybody put out there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Jackson also suggested the pop star might move out of the country.
And a stunt by a British tabloid is sparking a review of security procedures at the military academy that Prince Harry attends. The "Sun" of London says one of its reporters, posing as a student, took this video of Prince Harry in training at Sandhurst Academy. The reporter also constructed a fake bomb in his car. The "Sun" says it was tipped off by a concerned insider worried about security at the academy.
He was in there for about seven hours just wandering around the halls and...
HEMMER: Will it change the rules now?
COSTELLO: I think so.
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: I want to guess yes.
COSTELLO: I think so.
HEMMER: Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure.
O'BRIEN: Thanks.
Well, a hostage standoff ended a couple of hours ago at an international school for children. It happened in Siem Reap in Cambodia, in the northern part of the country. Fifty elementary students were held captive at one point. Police say one child was shot and killed by one of the gunmen. Aneesh Raman is live by video phone from the region this morning -- Aneesh, good morning to you.
What's the latest on this?
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, good morning.
This six hour stand-off ended amidst gunfire. Police officials on the ground saying that a 5-year-old Canadian boy was killed by the hostage takers. Four of them, the hostage takers, wounded, are now in police custody, being interrogated.
These were elementary school children between the ages of two and six, dozens of them of various nationalities. Siem Reap a tourist hub where a number of expatriates live as part of the tourism industry. An international school, so there were all sorts of nationalities there. Hours of negotiations, Soledad.
The main demands of the hostage takers throughout the day were threefold. First, they wanted additional arms. They went in with shotguns and AK-47s. They wanted RPG launchers. They also wanted money, about $1,000 U.S., as well as safe transport to the Thai border.
The government offered them both a van and money. That is what hostage takers took at the end to try and escape, when they were then taken into custody. Gunfire erupted, we presume, as government officials began to move into that area. And the children all were evacuated immediately, along with their teachers. But very tense moments for the parents, who for hours were standing outside, unsure of the fate of their children -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Yes, one can imagine.
Aneesh, you said it's an international school.
Any reason beyond that, though, why it might have been a target?
RAMAN: That was of much debate today was the why. This was clearly a target that had international reach, both by virtue of it being Siem Reap, the economic sort of backbone of Cambodia right now as a tourism industry, and also because of the expat children that were there.
The prime minister, Hun Sen, was quick to say that this was not politically motivated, that, in fact, these were small time criminals essentially looking for money. But that aside, the implications and the effect are very real and what this will mean for the expats there and for security at international schools throughout the region is something that will be debated in the days to come -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Sure, I would imagine.
Aneesh Raman for us this morning.
Aneesh, thanks for that update -- Bill. HEMMER: Now to Aruba.
A ruling is expected today regarding evidence against the three suspects held in the case of Natalee Holloway. Police on Wednesday were back at the home of one of the men, Joran van der Sloot, age 17. They carried out a number of bags and they towed away two cars from the home.
Marianne Croes is the spokesperson for the prosecution in Aruba.
Good morning to you, Miss. Croes.
Thank you for your time here today.
MARIANNE CROES, ARUBA PROSECUTION SPOKESWOMAN: You're very welcome.
And good morning to you, too.
HEMMER: Did this search yesterday turn up any clues sat the home of van der Sloot?
CROES: I cannot talk specifically about clues. But I can say at this time, that two cars were confiscated for further technical investigation.
HEMMER: All right, but let me push you just a little bit here.
What were they looking for in that home?
CROES: As a part of the investigation, they wwere looking for more clues as to the disappearance of the American tourist.
HEMMER: Yes. You mentioned the two cars, though.
Wasn't the car that was involved the night that Natalee disappeared owned by another young man?
CROES: Yes, but that car is already confiscated.
HEMMER: Is it fair to say, though, that the focus of your investigation is on this young man, van der Sloot his last name, of Dutch descent, based on the search that was carried out this week?
CROES: At the moment, we have three suspects in custody and we are investigating every lead concerning all three suspects.
HEMMER: The father of van der Sloot has filed a motion -- he is a judge in Aruba -- to get access to his son.
Under law in Aruba, will that be granted?
CROES: It's -- he has filed a motion because the prosecutor denied him access and because he wants access to his son. He has filed a motion. Yesterday, that motion was treated before a judge and tomorrow, this morning the decision will be made known. HEMMER: So it's possible that that father could access his son today if that's granted?
CROES: Yes, it is.
HEMMER: Yes. And, also, Natalee's mother has been saying that it is her fear that because this young man's son is a judge of significant power there in Aruba, that perhaps he is being protected by the state.
How would you respond to that charge, Miss. Croes?
CROES: I will deny that charge because we are doing our utmost to find, to solve this case and maybe even find Natalee. We really do want to find her and we are doing everything that is possible. And it doesn't matter who is involved. The goal of our investigation is to solve this case and find Natalee.
HEMMER: Yes, and one other thing here.
This court appearance yesterday, what happened in court?
CROES: The prosecutor was called to testify before a judge and a judge of instruction because of the motions filed by the defense in two of the three cases.
HEMMER: Yes, and these motions that were filed, one report in "USA Today" indicates that these motions were centered on documents withheld from attorneys for the 17-year-old boy.
Is that the case?
CROES: Yes. In two of the three cases, the motion filed was because certain documents pertaining to this case were not given to the attorney. That was a decision that was made by the prosecutor. The attorney didn't agree with this decision and that's why they filed the motion.
HEMMER: And did they win on that motion or has that been decided?
CROES: That will also be decided this morning.
HEMMER: OK.
We'll keep to watch of the developments out of Aruba today.
Marianne Croes is a spokesperson for the prosecutor's officer down there in Palm Beach.
Thank you, Miss. Croes.
CROES: You're welcome.
HEMMER: All right -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Bill, thanks.
It's almost 10 past the hour.
Time to get another check of the weather this morning.
And Chad Myers is looking at, what?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Some airport delays, I think, the potential for some, at least, in the Northeast. From Newark to LaGuardia and Boston, low ceilings, low cloud cover. They have to space the planes apart a little bit. You can't get as many planes in and out as you'd probably like.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Medical breakthroughs are bringing new hope to infertile couples. In a moment, you'll meet a husband and wife who were hoping for twins. Thanks to fertility treatment, they got the surprise of a lifetime. We'll talk about that.
O'BRIEN: Also, a series of earthquakes raising new concerns along the Pacific Coast. Is a dangerous pattern developing there?
HEMMER: And Mrs. Smith goes to Washington. Angelina Jolie arriving in D.C. to fight for an issue close to her heart.
That story still to come on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Military officials still trying to learn what caused a Marine Harrier jet to crash in a residential neighborhood. It happened on Wednesday afternoon near a military base in Arizona, near the town of Yuma. That's close to the borders with California and Mexico.
The jet was on a training mission loaded with live ordinance, four 500-pound bombs and several hundred rounds of ammunition.
Gibby Parra is with Phoenix affiliate KTVK, live in Yuma -- and, Gibby, clearly there's investigation that will begin shortly.
Are the residents there evacuated back in their homes?
GIBBY PARRA, KTVK CORRESPONDENT: You know, as of 10:00 last night, the first evacuation was close to 1,300 residents. As of about 10:30 last night, they let all but 52 residents back into the neighborhood. And those 52 residents are the ones mainly close to the jet crash.
Now, they picked up four of those bombs that were on the AV8 Harrier B. The only thing they haven't retrieved yet was the 300 rounds of ammunition that was on the jet. And they suspended the search due to darkness last night. They are scheduled to come back in about 7:00 this morning. As far as the rest of the residents, everyone was back in their homes. I believe there was some power out due to some of the area I think they didn't want to detonate any of the ammunition or any of the ordinance that they had on the jet.
HEMMER: Gibby, with this investigation underway now, is there any early indication as to what forced this Harrier down?
PARRA: You know what? Because it is a military investigation, they're really tight-lipped about it. They really hadn't said much other than that it is an investigation. I grew up in Yuma and I know there hadn't really been any accidents in this neighborhood or anywhere near the base in some years. The last one, I believe, was December of 2004, but that was out at the Barry Goldwater Range, nowhere near any residence. And they're just being tight-lipped, keeping the investigation, and will let us know more as the military does it, when they have a chance to do it.
HEMMER: Gibby, let me try one more thing here. Four 500-pound bombs on board.
Has the military said whether or not these were live bombs, in other words, whether or not the fuse was essentially lit at the time, where flying in an area like that, one would assume they would not be activated?
PARRA: One of the military officials last night at the press conference had mentioned that the bombs were unarmed and that's why they didn't detonate upon impact last night. So they were unarmed. They were loaded, but were unarmed, though.
HEMMER: All right, Gibby Parra, KTVK out there in Yuma, Arizona.
Thanks for that -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, Bill, more than six million American women and their partners report having trouble getting pregnant. In a special hour of "PAULA ZAHN NOW," Paula reports on infertility and just how far people will go to get pregnant.
Paula is with us this morning.
Nice to see you -- good morning.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Nice to be with you this morning.
The numbers are absolutely staggering. People struggling with infertility. Not so long ago, they simply had to accept infertility as their reality. But now revolutionary medicine has brought some new hope to their lives.
You're about to meet Abby and Georg Hartman.
They're a young couple who used fertility treatments to get pregnant. They had hoped to have twins, like you did, but they went on for a sonogram and they got the surprise of their lives.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ABBY HARTMAN, FERTILITY PATIENT: OK, thanks.
Bye.
Honey, we're pregnant!
ZAHN: It was the moment they'd been waiting for. In the initial sonograms, doctors could see there were two fetuses -- twins. In follow-up exams, they then saw something else.
A. HARTMAN: And I'm lying there and I said OK, I want a head count. And I hear oh my god, oh my god, oh my god from the ultrasound woman. I'm like what, what, what? She's like there's another one. So I said what do you mean? She said there's another one down here. I said will they both split? And she goes, yes. And I thought oh my god, something's terribly wrong. They're going to keep on multiplying.
ZAHN: Like 40 babies.
A. HARTMAN: Like, oh my god, they're so wrong. And the doctor said oh, yes, yes, another one. So two sets of identical twins. I said what are the chances? I mean that's something that is so...
GEORG HARTMAN, HUSBAND OF FERTILITY PATIENT: So that's a little prize.
A. HARTMAN: ... random and so statistically weird that -- and it happened to us.
G. HARTMAN: It is.
ZAHN: Now, were you at the appointment when all four babies were discovered?
A. HARTMAN: Yes.
G. HARTMAN: Yes. Yes, I was.
A. HARTMAN: I don't even remember seeing him. It was a dark room and he was in the corner. And all I know is I hear like a bang. Like oh my god.
G. HARTMAN: That was me hitting the wall, honey. I was holding onto the wall in the ultrasound room.
ZAHN: And was that a bang of oh no, I can't do this or oh my god it's really me?
G. HARTMAN: It was a bang of oh my god, what's happening? Is this really my life?
A. HARTMAN: Yes, that's... G. HARTMAN: It was a really surreal moment.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
O'BRIEN: Wow!
ZAHN: Four babies. What great news to them.
O'BRIEN: Wow! Wow! Yes, they're still digesting the information, you can tell.
ZAHN: But you can imagine their concerns, particularly when it comes to the costs associated with high risk pregnancies, the costs associated with prenatal care. You will learn today that it costs $4 million to get these kids out of the woods once they were born.
O'BRIEN: Yes, huge, huge risks. And, of course, prematurity increases greatly when you're talking about multiples.
ZAHN: And when you talk about multiple births, of course, it sparks all kind of controversy, because in political and medical circles, there is concern that some clinics are reckless, that sometimes parents put too much pressure on the doctors to implant...
O'BRIEN: To implant a lot, right? A lot of the embryos.
ZAHN: ... five or six embryos. And in this case, only two embryos were implanted. And it's such a rarity that they would end up two sets of identical twins.
O'BRIEN: Wow! And then you have the whole, all the work they have ahead of them.
Who else do you profile?
ZAHN: Tonight we'll be talking with Joan Lunden, who, at the age of 54...
O'BRIEN: Wow! Great.
ZAHN: ... is the mother of...
O'BRIEN: God bless her.
ZAHN: ... three grown children and four babies under the age of three, two sets of identical twins.
O'BRIEN: Wow!
ZAHN: She tried to get pregnant herself, tried in vitro a number of times, five times in all. It didn't work. She went the surrogacy route.
O'BRIEN: Wow!
ZAHN: And she talks -- she does, actually does her first in depth interview about the second surrogacy pregnancy when she talked about what it was like to give up that experience that she had the first three times around of carrying the baby and having her husband be able to touch her belly.
And then Brooke Shields will also be joining us to talk about her seven in vitro attempts...
O'BRIEN: Wow!
ZAHN: ... which ultimately resulted in the birth of this gorgeous baby you see on the screen right now.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
ZAHN: But because of some serious problems she had during delivery...
O'BRIEN: She had a rough time.
ZAHN: ... and post-partum depression, this has not been an easy road for Brooke.
O'BRIEN: Yes, really interesting.
Paula, thanks a lot.
ZAHN: So they talk in a very personal way to me.
O'BRIEN: Yes, I bet. I bet.
ZAHN: And a very personal choice to make.
O'BRIEN: Joan Lunden, 53 and four?
ZAHN: Fifty-four and...
O'BRIEN: Two sets of twins...
ZAHN: Yes, and she said she's never been happier.
O'BRIEN: ... under three?
ZAHN: She has more energy than she did when she got up at 4:30 in the morning.
O'BRIEN: God bless her.
ZAHN: Doing the morning show.
O'BRIEN: Oh, man.
All right, Paula, thanks.
These stories, of course, are going to be on a special hour of "PAULA ZAHN NOW," "The Baby Chase." And that's at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN -- Bill. HEMMER: Good stories.
Thanks, Soledad.
Thanks, Paula.
In a moment, King Tut mania coming back to the U.S. after nearly 30 years.
Brook Anderson up early this morning -- good morning there -- Brooke.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.
I'm at the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts, where a new King Tut exhibit is kicking off today.
Coming up, I'll tell you what's on display and why King Tut is still a star.
Back to you.
HEMMER: All right, thanks, Brooke.
Back to L.A. in a moment.
First, this question. Who discovered King Tut's tomb back in November of 1922 -- George Herbert, Howard Carter or Samuel John?
The answer after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Before the break, who discovered King Tut's tomb back in November of '22? The answer, Howard Carter. It's B. And that discovery helped turn Egypt into an even bigger tourist Mecca and shed new light on ancient civilizations.
In this country, though, a new summer blockbuster is coming, not a movie, it's a mummy. The second coming of King Tut to the U.S. The first one happened three decades ago.
To L.A. and Brooke Anderson, who is live in Los Angeles.
Tut mania just starts -- Brooke, good morning.
ANDERSON: Good morning to you, Bill.
I'm here at the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts, where this King Tut exhibit is kicking off today. Like you said, it's been nearly three decades since these artifacts left their home in Egypt. But now we've got Tut II kicking off.
So let's take a look inside this big King Tut phenomenon.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE," COURTESY NBC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: King Tut.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Buried with a donkey.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON (voice-over): You know you've made it big when they spoof you on "Saturday Night Live."
PATRICK POLK, UCLA FOLKLORIST: You can just say these three letters, Tut, and most of America knows who you're talking about.
ANDERSON: Almost 30 years ago, The Treasures Of Tutankhamen, a 55-piece exhibit, took the U.S. by storm. Tut mania seemed to spark interest in all things Egyptian, including movies and music.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN," COURTESY COLUMBIA PICTURES)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Walk like an Egyptian.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POLK: I think people are really enamored with just the mystique of the boy king, of this great archaeological discovery. And then add on to the story the notion of curse. Lots of things come together to make Tut a perfect kind of story for American popular culture and media.
ANDERSON: Tut became the pharaoh of Egypt at age nine or 10 and died at 19. Scientists originally believed he'd been murdered. But new research shows it was more likely an injury that killed the young king of Egypt.
In 1922, his tomb was discovered relatively intact. It may not be his life as much as his death that intrigues people the most.
POLK: It's a whole other way of looking about how you approach a death, that these -- the pyramids, these fantastic tombs are really such an alien kind of sense of marking one's present and of marking one's passage from life to death.
ANDERSON: Tut II, the boy king's latest incarnation, a four-city U.S. tour, kicks off in Los Angeles. This exhibit has 50 Tut-related artifacts, but not some of the burial coffins and masks that traveled in the original tour.
NANCY THOMAS, L.A. COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART: It's great to have an exhibition where you have very high attendance, a lot of public interest and you expand the boundaries of the museum beyond your normal audience.
ANDERSON: The L.A. Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates the show will bring in about $150 million to the city. Even small businesses like Web retailer Delta Collections, which deals in Egyptian replicas, have seen sales rise 20 to 25 percent.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
ANDERSON: One hundred twenty artifacts on display here at this exhibit. Fifty of them are from King Tut.
So talk a look behind me. I want to show you guys two boats here. These are two of 35 boats found in Tut's tomb. I'm told the symbolism of these wooden boat models is that they would allow Tut to travel the celestial waterways with the sun god in the afterlife. Pretty interesting stuff.
Bill, the tour will eventually make its way to Fort Lauderdale, Chicago and Philadelphia -- back to you.
HEMMER: Four very lucky cities along the way.
Thanks, Brooke.
Enjoy it.
Brooke Anderson in L.A.
In our final hour today, 9:00 Eastern, we'll talk with archaeologist and Tut expert Zahi Hawwas about the new exhibit -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, still to come this morning, our Just For Dads series and the role that first the headlines have in keeping their kids safe in the home.
We are "Paging Dr. Gupta" just ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired June 16, 2005 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: New pictures this hour from Cambodia, where gunmen today took over a local school. Children and teachers taken hostage and the military called in to break it up.
Police in Aruba returned to the home of a local judge. Cars and other items taken, possible evidence in the search for Natalee Holloway.
And raises in one Arizona community are returning home after a military jet slams into their neighborhood. The very latest on what went wrong on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: On a Thursday, 8:00 in New York.
Good morning, everybody.
Also ahead, we'll talk about the earthquakes this week, as in plural, all happening in the zone known as the ring of fire, out in the Pacific.
O'BRIEN: And, of course, many people are asking if they're connected and if that means that there are more earthquakes, and maybe bigger earthquakes, that are coming. We'll take a look at that this morning.
HEMMER: First, the headlines the top of the hour.
Back to Carol Costello with those -- good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Good morning to all of you.
Now in the news, two car bombs -- two car bomb attacks target Iraqi forces in Iraq. Five Iraqi soldiers were wounded in an explosion at the gate of an oil company in Kirkuk. In Baghdad, a car bomb wounded five Iraqi soldiers on patrol. And five U.S. Marines were killed on Wednesday by a roadside bomb in Ramadi. A sailor with the unit also died from small arms fire in a separate incident.
This month alone, nearly 50 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq.
In South Carolina, a former police officer facing charges after he was captured on videotape beating a suspect. The Dillon Police Department releasing this video. It shows Officer Donnie Grimsley hitting the suspect with a flashlight. Grimsley and other officers are also seen kicking and stomping the suspect as he pleads, "Please stop hitting me." He and another officer have since been fired.
Still no sign of pop star Michael Jackson since his acquittal. But one of his brothers says he is at peace and recovering from the ordeal. Jackson hasn't been seen since Monday, when a jury found him not guilty on all 10 counts in his molestation trial.
On CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE," Jermaine Jackson clarified some rumors surrounding his brother.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CNN'S "LARRY KING LIVE")
JERMAINE JACKSON, MICHAEL'S BROTHER: Michael does not sleep in the bed with children. Also, Michael's quarters at his ranch is the size of a 2,000 or more square foot condo, OK? And at the same time, Michael does not sleep in the bed with children. So that was the misunderstanding that everybody put out there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Jackson also suggested the pop star might move out of the country.
And a stunt by a British tabloid is sparking a review of security procedures at the military academy that Prince Harry attends. The "Sun" of London says one of its reporters, posing as a student, took this video of Prince Harry in training at Sandhurst Academy. The reporter also constructed a fake bomb in his car. The "Sun" says it was tipped off by a concerned insider worried about security at the academy.
He was in there for about seven hours just wandering around the halls and...
HEMMER: Will it change the rules now?
COSTELLO: I think so.
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: I want to guess yes.
COSTELLO: I think so.
HEMMER: Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure.
O'BRIEN: Thanks.
Well, a hostage standoff ended a couple of hours ago at an international school for children. It happened in Siem Reap in Cambodia, in the northern part of the country. Fifty elementary students were held captive at one point. Police say one child was shot and killed by one of the gunmen. Aneesh Raman is live by video phone from the region this morning -- Aneesh, good morning to you.
What's the latest on this?
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, good morning.
This six hour stand-off ended amidst gunfire. Police officials on the ground saying that a 5-year-old Canadian boy was killed by the hostage takers. Four of them, the hostage takers, wounded, are now in police custody, being interrogated.
These were elementary school children between the ages of two and six, dozens of them of various nationalities. Siem Reap a tourist hub where a number of expatriates live as part of the tourism industry. An international school, so there were all sorts of nationalities there. Hours of negotiations, Soledad.
The main demands of the hostage takers throughout the day were threefold. First, they wanted additional arms. They went in with shotguns and AK-47s. They wanted RPG launchers. They also wanted money, about $1,000 U.S., as well as safe transport to the Thai border.
The government offered them both a van and money. That is what hostage takers took at the end to try and escape, when they were then taken into custody. Gunfire erupted, we presume, as government officials began to move into that area. And the children all were evacuated immediately, along with their teachers. But very tense moments for the parents, who for hours were standing outside, unsure of the fate of their children -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Yes, one can imagine.
Aneesh, you said it's an international school.
Any reason beyond that, though, why it might have been a target?
RAMAN: That was of much debate today was the why. This was clearly a target that had international reach, both by virtue of it being Siem Reap, the economic sort of backbone of Cambodia right now as a tourism industry, and also because of the expat children that were there.
The prime minister, Hun Sen, was quick to say that this was not politically motivated, that, in fact, these were small time criminals essentially looking for money. But that aside, the implications and the effect are very real and what this will mean for the expats there and for security at international schools throughout the region is something that will be debated in the days to come -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Sure, I would imagine.
Aneesh Raman for us this morning.
Aneesh, thanks for that update -- Bill. HEMMER: Now to Aruba.
A ruling is expected today regarding evidence against the three suspects held in the case of Natalee Holloway. Police on Wednesday were back at the home of one of the men, Joran van der Sloot, age 17. They carried out a number of bags and they towed away two cars from the home.
Marianne Croes is the spokesperson for the prosecution in Aruba.
Good morning to you, Miss. Croes.
Thank you for your time here today.
MARIANNE CROES, ARUBA PROSECUTION SPOKESWOMAN: You're very welcome.
And good morning to you, too.
HEMMER: Did this search yesterday turn up any clues sat the home of van der Sloot?
CROES: I cannot talk specifically about clues. But I can say at this time, that two cars were confiscated for further technical investigation.
HEMMER: All right, but let me push you just a little bit here.
What were they looking for in that home?
CROES: As a part of the investigation, they wwere looking for more clues as to the disappearance of the American tourist.
HEMMER: Yes. You mentioned the two cars, though.
Wasn't the car that was involved the night that Natalee disappeared owned by another young man?
CROES: Yes, but that car is already confiscated.
HEMMER: Is it fair to say, though, that the focus of your investigation is on this young man, van der Sloot his last name, of Dutch descent, based on the search that was carried out this week?
CROES: At the moment, we have three suspects in custody and we are investigating every lead concerning all three suspects.
HEMMER: The father of van der Sloot has filed a motion -- he is a judge in Aruba -- to get access to his son.
Under law in Aruba, will that be granted?
CROES: It's -- he has filed a motion because the prosecutor denied him access and because he wants access to his son. He has filed a motion. Yesterday, that motion was treated before a judge and tomorrow, this morning the decision will be made known. HEMMER: So it's possible that that father could access his son today if that's granted?
CROES: Yes, it is.
HEMMER: Yes. And, also, Natalee's mother has been saying that it is her fear that because this young man's son is a judge of significant power there in Aruba, that perhaps he is being protected by the state.
How would you respond to that charge, Miss. Croes?
CROES: I will deny that charge because we are doing our utmost to find, to solve this case and maybe even find Natalee. We really do want to find her and we are doing everything that is possible. And it doesn't matter who is involved. The goal of our investigation is to solve this case and find Natalee.
HEMMER: Yes, and one other thing here.
This court appearance yesterday, what happened in court?
CROES: The prosecutor was called to testify before a judge and a judge of instruction because of the motions filed by the defense in two of the three cases.
HEMMER: Yes, and these motions that were filed, one report in "USA Today" indicates that these motions were centered on documents withheld from attorneys for the 17-year-old boy.
Is that the case?
CROES: Yes. In two of the three cases, the motion filed was because certain documents pertaining to this case were not given to the attorney. That was a decision that was made by the prosecutor. The attorney didn't agree with this decision and that's why they filed the motion.
HEMMER: And did they win on that motion or has that been decided?
CROES: That will also be decided this morning.
HEMMER: OK.
We'll keep to watch of the developments out of Aruba today.
Marianne Croes is a spokesperson for the prosecutor's officer down there in Palm Beach.
Thank you, Miss. Croes.
CROES: You're welcome.
HEMMER: All right -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Bill, thanks.
It's almost 10 past the hour.
Time to get another check of the weather this morning.
And Chad Myers is looking at, what?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Some airport delays, I think, the potential for some, at least, in the Northeast. From Newark to LaGuardia and Boston, low ceilings, low cloud cover. They have to space the planes apart a little bit. You can't get as many planes in and out as you'd probably like.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Medical breakthroughs are bringing new hope to infertile couples. In a moment, you'll meet a husband and wife who were hoping for twins. Thanks to fertility treatment, they got the surprise of a lifetime. We'll talk about that.
O'BRIEN: Also, a series of earthquakes raising new concerns along the Pacific Coast. Is a dangerous pattern developing there?
HEMMER: And Mrs. Smith goes to Washington. Angelina Jolie arriving in D.C. to fight for an issue close to her heart.
That story still to come on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Military officials still trying to learn what caused a Marine Harrier jet to crash in a residential neighborhood. It happened on Wednesday afternoon near a military base in Arizona, near the town of Yuma. That's close to the borders with California and Mexico.
The jet was on a training mission loaded with live ordinance, four 500-pound bombs and several hundred rounds of ammunition.
Gibby Parra is with Phoenix affiliate KTVK, live in Yuma -- and, Gibby, clearly there's investigation that will begin shortly.
Are the residents there evacuated back in their homes?
GIBBY PARRA, KTVK CORRESPONDENT: You know, as of 10:00 last night, the first evacuation was close to 1,300 residents. As of about 10:30 last night, they let all but 52 residents back into the neighborhood. And those 52 residents are the ones mainly close to the jet crash.
Now, they picked up four of those bombs that were on the AV8 Harrier B. The only thing they haven't retrieved yet was the 300 rounds of ammunition that was on the jet. And they suspended the search due to darkness last night. They are scheduled to come back in about 7:00 this morning. As far as the rest of the residents, everyone was back in their homes. I believe there was some power out due to some of the area I think they didn't want to detonate any of the ammunition or any of the ordinance that they had on the jet.
HEMMER: Gibby, with this investigation underway now, is there any early indication as to what forced this Harrier down?
PARRA: You know what? Because it is a military investigation, they're really tight-lipped about it. They really hadn't said much other than that it is an investigation. I grew up in Yuma and I know there hadn't really been any accidents in this neighborhood or anywhere near the base in some years. The last one, I believe, was December of 2004, but that was out at the Barry Goldwater Range, nowhere near any residence. And they're just being tight-lipped, keeping the investigation, and will let us know more as the military does it, when they have a chance to do it.
HEMMER: Gibby, let me try one more thing here. Four 500-pound bombs on board.
Has the military said whether or not these were live bombs, in other words, whether or not the fuse was essentially lit at the time, where flying in an area like that, one would assume they would not be activated?
PARRA: One of the military officials last night at the press conference had mentioned that the bombs were unarmed and that's why they didn't detonate upon impact last night. So they were unarmed. They were loaded, but were unarmed, though.
HEMMER: All right, Gibby Parra, KTVK out there in Yuma, Arizona.
Thanks for that -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, Bill, more than six million American women and their partners report having trouble getting pregnant. In a special hour of "PAULA ZAHN NOW," Paula reports on infertility and just how far people will go to get pregnant.
Paula is with us this morning.
Nice to see you -- good morning.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Nice to be with you this morning.
The numbers are absolutely staggering. People struggling with infertility. Not so long ago, they simply had to accept infertility as their reality. But now revolutionary medicine has brought some new hope to their lives.
You're about to meet Abby and Georg Hartman.
They're a young couple who used fertility treatments to get pregnant. They had hoped to have twins, like you did, but they went on for a sonogram and they got the surprise of their lives.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ABBY HARTMAN, FERTILITY PATIENT: OK, thanks.
Bye.
Honey, we're pregnant!
ZAHN: It was the moment they'd been waiting for. In the initial sonograms, doctors could see there were two fetuses -- twins. In follow-up exams, they then saw something else.
A. HARTMAN: And I'm lying there and I said OK, I want a head count. And I hear oh my god, oh my god, oh my god from the ultrasound woman. I'm like what, what, what? She's like there's another one. So I said what do you mean? She said there's another one down here. I said will they both split? And she goes, yes. And I thought oh my god, something's terribly wrong. They're going to keep on multiplying.
ZAHN: Like 40 babies.
A. HARTMAN: Like, oh my god, they're so wrong. And the doctor said oh, yes, yes, another one. So two sets of identical twins. I said what are the chances? I mean that's something that is so...
GEORG HARTMAN, HUSBAND OF FERTILITY PATIENT: So that's a little prize.
A. HARTMAN: ... random and so statistically weird that -- and it happened to us.
G. HARTMAN: It is.
ZAHN: Now, were you at the appointment when all four babies were discovered?
A. HARTMAN: Yes.
G. HARTMAN: Yes. Yes, I was.
A. HARTMAN: I don't even remember seeing him. It was a dark room and he was in the corner. And all I know is I hear like a bang. Like oh my god.
G. HARTMAN: That was me hitting the wall, honey. I was holding onto the wall in the ultrasound room.
ZAHN: And was that a bang of oh no, I can't do this or oh my god it's really me?
G. HARTMAN: It was a bang of oh my god, what's happening? Is this really my life?
A. HARTMAN: Yes, that's... G. HARTMAN: It was a really surreal moment.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
O'BRIEN: Wow!
ZAHN: Four babies. What great news to them.
O'BRIEN: Wow! Wow! Yes, they're still digesting the information, you can tell.
ZAHN: But you can imagine their concerns, particularly when it comes to the costs associated with high risk pregnancies, the costs associated with prenatal care. You will learn today that it costs $4 million to get these kids out of the woods once they were born.
O'BRIEN: Yes, huge, huge risks. And, of course, prematurity increases greatly when you're talking about multiples.
ZAHN: And when you talk about multiple births, of course, it sparks all kind of controversy, because in political and medical circles, there is concern that some clinics are reckless, that sometimes parents put too much pressure on the doctors to implant...
O'BRIEN: To implant a lot, right? A lot of the embryos.
ZAHN: ... five or six embryos. And in this case, only two embryos were implanted. And it's such a rarity that they would end up two sets of identical twins.
O'BRIEN: Wow! And then you have the whole, all the work they have ahead of them.
Who else do you profile?
ZAHN: Tonight we'll be talking with Joan Lunden, who, at the age of 54...
O'BRIEN: Wow! Great.
ZAHN: ... is the mother of...
O'BRIEN: God bless her.
ZAHN: ... three grown children and four babies under the age of three, two sets of identical twins.
O'BRIEN: Wow!
ZAHN: She tried to get pregnant herself, tried in vitro a number of times, five times in all. It didn't work. She went the surrogacy route.
O'BRIEN: Wow!
ZAHN: And she talks -- she does, actually does her first in depth interview about the second surrogacy pregnancy when she talked about what it was like to give up that experience that she had the first three times around of carrying the baby and having her husband be able to touch her belly.
And then Brooke Shields will also be joining us to talk about her seven in vitro attempts...
O'BRIEN: Wow!
ZAHN: ... which ultimately resulted in the birth of this gorgeous baby you see on the screen right now.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
ZAHN: But because of some serious problems she had during delivery...
O'BRIEN: She had a rough time.
ZAHN: ... and post-partum depression, this has not been an easy road for Brooke.
O'BRIEN: Yes, really interesting.
Paula, thanks a lot.
ZAHN: So they talk in a very personal way to me.
O'BRIEN: Yes, I bet. I bet.
ZAHN: And a very personal choice to make.
O'BRIEN: Joan Lunden, 53 and four?
ZAHN: Fifty-four and...
O'BRIEN: Two sets of twins...
ZAHN: Yes, and she said she's never been happier.
O'BRIEN: ... under three?
ZAHN: She has more energy than she did when she got up at 4:30 in the morning.
O'BRIEN: God bless her.
ZAHN: Doing the morning show.
O'BRIEN: Oh, man.
All right, Paula, thanks.
These stories, of course, are going to be on a special hour of "PAULA ZAHN NOW," "The Baby Chase." And that's at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN -- Bill. HEMMER: Good stories.
Thanks, Soledad.
Thanks, Paula.
In a moment, King Tut mania coming back to the U.S. after nearly 30 years.
Brook Anderson up early this morning -- good morning there -- Brooke.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.
I'm at the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts, where a new King Tut exhibit is kicking off today.
Coming up, I'll tell you what's on display and why King Tut is still a star.
Back to you.
HEMMER: All right, thanks, Brooke.
Back to L.A. in a moment.
First, this question. Who discovered King Tut's tomb back in November of 1922 -- George Herbert, Howard Carter or Samuel John?
The answer after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Before the break, who discovered King Tut's tomb back in November of '22? The answer, Howard Carter. It's B. And that discovery helped turn Egypt into an even bigger tourist Mecca and shed new light on ancient civilizations.
In this country, though, a new summer blockbuster is coming, not a movie, it's a mummy. The second coming of King Tut to the U.S. The first one happened three decades ago.
To L.A. and Brooke Anderson, who is live in Los Angeles.
Tut mania just starts -- Brooke, good morning.
ANDERSON: Good morning to you, Bill.
I'm here at the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts, where this King Tut exhibit is kicking off today. Like you said, it's been nearly three decades since these artifacts left their home in Egypt. But now we've got Tut II kicking off.
So let's take a look inside this big King Tut phenomenon.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE," COURTESY NBC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: King Tut.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Buried with a donkey.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON (voice-over): You know you've made it big when they spoof you on "Saturday Night Live."
PATRICK POLK, UCLA FOLKLORIST: You can just say these three letters, Tut, and most of America knows who you're talking about.
ANDERSON: Almost 30 years ago, The Treasures Of Tutankhamen, a 55-piece exhibit, took the U.S. by storm. Tut mania seemed to spark interest in all things Egyptian, including movies and music.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN," COURTESY COLUMBIA PICTURES)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Walk like an Egyptian.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POLK: I think people are really enamored with just the mystique of the boy king, of this great archaeological discovery. And then add on to the story the notion of curse. Lots of things come together to make Tut a perfect kind of story for American popular culture and media.
ANDERSON: Tut became the pharaoh of Egypt at age nine or 10 and died at 19. Scientists originally believed he'd been murdered. But new research shows it was more likely an injury that killed the young king of Egypt.
In 1922, his tomb was discovered relatively intact. It may not be his life as much as his death that intrigues people the most.
POLK: It's a whole other way of looking about how you approach a death, that these -- the pyramids, these fantastic tombs are really such an alien kind of sense of marking one's present and of marking one's passage from life to death.
ANDERSON: Tut II, the boy king's latest incarnation, a four-city U.S. tour, kicks off in Los Angeles. This exhibit has 50 Tut-related artifacts, but not some of the burial coffins and masks that traveled in the original tour.
NANCY THOMAS, L.A. COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART: It's great to have an exhibition where you have very high attendance, a lot of public interest and you expand the boundaries of the museum beyond your normal audience.
ANDERSON: The L.A. Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates the show will bring in about $150 million to the city. Even small businesses like Web retailer Delta Collections, which deals in Egyptian replicas, have seen sales rise 20 to 25 percent.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
ANDERSON: One hundred twenty artifacts on display here at this exhibit. Fifty of them are from King Tut.
So talk a look behind me. I want to show you guys two boats here. These are two of 35 boats found in Tut's tomb. I'm told the symbolism of these wooden boat models is that they would allow Tut to travel the celestial waterways with the sun god in the afterlife. Pretty interesting stuff.
Bill, the tour will eventually make its way to Fort Lauderdale, Chicago and Philadelphia -- back to you.
HEMMER: Four very lucky cities along the way.
Thanks, Brooke.
Enjoy it.
Brooke Anderson in L.A.
In our final hour today, 9:00 Eastern, we'll talk with archaeologist and Tut expert Zahi Hawwas about the new exhibit -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, still to come this morning, our Just For Dads series and the role that first the headlines have in keeping their kids safe in the home.
We are "Paging Dr. Gupta" just ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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