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CNN Live At Daybreak

Search Continues for Missing Alabama Teenager; BTK Suspects Speaks; Runaway Bride

Aired June 22, 2005 - 06:29   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner center in New York, this is DAYBREAK, with Carol Costello and Chad Myers.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Thank you for waking up with us.

Also coming up this half-hour, an exclusive interview from behind bars with a man who police say is BTK. It's a very strange interview. You'll want to stick around for this.

And some new recommendations for people who live or work in high- rise buildings.

But first, "Now in the News."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has joined Iraqi officials in calling for international help in rebuilding Iraq. More than 80 nations and groups are attending the conference right now at European Union headquarters in Brussels.

In the meantime, in the Iraqi city of Najaf, thousands of supporters of the Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, took to the streets today. They were demanding Iraq's new government and U.S. authorities release detainees being held in U.S. prisons in Iraq.

A lost Cub Scout who was found alive is back home after being hospitalized. Doctors say the 11-year-old who had been missing for four days is in good health. He's just a little dehydrated, a little sunburned, and he's a little disoriented.

Remember, you can view more CNN reports online. Just visit CNN.com, click on to watch, and you can check out the most popular stories.

To the forecast center now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: A search and rescue crew on the way to Aruba has been delayed. Still, the search goes on for Natalee Holloway, led by her parents, and it's costing them emotionally and now financially. Right now, family and friends are raising money to help out.

Let's head live to Aruba now and Chris Lawrence.

Bring us up to date -- Chris. CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it's been another tough night for the family here, because they still don't have the answer to their question: Where is Natalee Holloway?

But a few minutes ago, you mentioned the Cub Scout who was found alive after being lost for days out there on the West Coast. Well, we spoke with Beth Holloway Twitty about that, Natalee's mom about that, and she said it really gave her a lot of inspiration. She said, it shows what can happen when there is a concerted and dedicated search effort. And it kind of maybe gave her a little bit more energy about what's going on here.

We also talked with her about something else she did yesterday. She was out in different neighborhoods, passing out prayer cards, which she pretty much does on a regular basis. This time it happened to take her into the neighborhood of Paul Van Der Sloot. He is that local judge who is the father of the Dutch teenager, who kind of hit it off with Natalee the night she disappeared and was one of the last people to see her alive. Well, the father has been questioned twice now by police.

Natalee's mom was on the neighborhood last night. She decided on the spur of the moment to go to the house, hand them out a prayer card. She ended up going inside and speaking with Paul Van Der Sloot and his wife for an hour-and-a-half. Now, she won't tell us exactly what they talked about, but she said it was not planned. It was spur of the moment. She won't talk about it because it may jeopardize the investigation.

Now, as to the suspects, the original three have now all been moved to the one prison here on the island. And that fourth suspect, Steve Croes, we now know a little bit more about why he was initially picked up. He told police that he saw the other three men drop off Natalee Holloway right here at this hotel on the night she disappeared. Police found out that story fell apart. That's why they went in and arrested him -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Chris Lawrence bringing us up to date live from Aruba this morning. Thank you.

In our "Security Watch" this morning, ranking the risk of an attack with weapons of mass destruction. A new survey offers up these sobering statistics. The most significant risk is from a so-called "dirty bomb," a conventional explosive that contains radioactive material. The probability of an attack with any kind of WMD is as high as 50 percent over the next five years. More than 80 experts took part in this survey.

A federal panel investigating the World Trade Center collapse is ready to release new recommendations for evacuating skyscrapers. The proposals were first reported in "The New York Times." The plans call for major changes in evacuation strategies for occupants of higher floors, sturdier elevators and stairways, and walls equipped with wiring that will not short-circuit is exposed to water.

There are more fast lanes at a busy San Diego border crossing. Prescreened motorist lanes allow drivers to get through San Ysidro crossing from Mexico. Immigration officials have doubled the number of special lanes to decrease the normal hour wait to just 10 minutes. Motorists pay up to $129 to enroll in the SENTRI program.

And this update on that terrorism investigation in Lodi, California. A father and son pleaded not guilty to federal charges of lying to FBI agents. Prosecutors say Umer Hayat and his son, Hamid, lied about the son's attendance at an al Qaeda terror training camp in Pakistan.

And this reminder to stay tuned in to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, the man suspected of the BTK murders speaks out from behind bars. Hear what Dennis Rader had to say about his time in jail, his family and the media.

Plus, pointing a finger at the woman who kept all of us transfixed for a weekend last month, the runaway bride.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: An accused killer speaks about himself in third person, a strange exchange between the alleged BTK killer and a Wichita reporter. BTK stands for bind, torture, kill, and Dennis Rader is accused of doing that to 10 people over four decades.

In an interview with Wichita TV station KSNW, Rader charges he's being harassed as his trial approaches.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENNIS RADER, ALLEGED BTK KILLER: Yes, and they're putting a lot of pressure on me. I don't know whether -- I think it's coming from the prosecution or from the jail, but I don't know where it's coming from. But anyway, it's about to rip me open.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: This morning, more on the jail cell phone call. Live to Randall Camp from KSNW in Wichita.

Good morning.

RANDALL KAMM, KSN REPORTER: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: First, let's get this out of the way. You did not conduct this interview. Another reporter did. But you're keeping the name under wraps. Why?

KAMM: He has a connection to the Rader family. And for that reason, we are withholding his name.

COSTELLO: So, how did this phone call come about?

KAMM: Well, our (INAUDIBLE) has been talking to him for some time now and actually he made a jailhouse visit and talked to Dennis Rader. Dennis Rader said, you know, I'll call you. I'll give you guys a call at the station, and actually came through with that.

COSTELLO: You know, it seems in reading the bites that you got some Dennis Rader, he's very concerned about his image and what his image is out in the community.

KAMM: Yes, that's true. He seemed very interested in controlling the interview. He said, you know, I don't want anything negative out on this. I want to -- you know, I want to know how you guys are going to use this. He is very concerned. He even said some strange things. He seemed to be concerned about his personal appearance, even though he's in the jail. He complained that he and his jail pod mates there in the county jail haven't had a haircut in two months. So, he's still worried about his image and his personal appearance as well.

COSTELLO: And the interesting thing about when he was talking about haircut, he says, we haven't had a haircut in almost two months. We haven't had a pair of clippers in two months. Is he referring to himself in the third person? Or is he talking about the others with him in jail?

KAMM: Yes, I don't think right there he's referring to himself in the third person. When he says "we," I think he's talking about his jail mates. But he does three different times during the interview refer to himself in the third person. At one point he says, Mr. Rader needs to know about his court papers. At another point he says, Rader needs to know what's going on. He's talking about getting papers from his defense team. He says, Rader needs to know what's going on. At another point he says, the paperwork is not coming down to him, and he's referring to himself there.

We talked to a psychologist last night, who said that often when people refer to themselves in the third person like that, they're actually trying to disassociate from something that could have happened in the past, something that could have been heinous. And, of course, if Dennis Rader is BTK, as police and prosecutors here in Wichita allege, you know, that obviously would be what Dennis Rader would be trying to distance himself from. But...

COSTELLO: Obviously. At any time did he say he didn't do it?

KAMM: He never did. He never talked about the crimes specifically. He never talked about the alleged victims or their families, and has never professed his innocence either in that call or in court or in several letters he sent from jail.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Randall Kamm, KSN reporter from Wichita, Kansas, joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:42 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning. Will the world help rebuild Iraq? That's the issue right now at the international conference under way at the EU headquarters in Belgium. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iraqi officials are reaching out to the global community.

In money news, credit card users could be getting some protection from higher interest rates. A bill being considered in the House would stop credit card companies from raising rates when you pay your bill on time.

In culture, some respect for the late comic Rodney Dangerfield. He'll reportedly be the subject of a movie by producers of the Oscar- winning movie about singer Ray Charles. That's according to the Hollywood trade paper, "Daily Variety."

In sports, the NBA and its players have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract that includes more drug tests. Players would be subjected to four random drug tests instead of just one. The deal also raises the minimum age for players to 19.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Oh, you have to stick around for just a second, Chad, because there's a new survey out on favorite movie lines.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right, Dana Fide (ph) did this, yes.

COSTELLO: That's right. That perfect quotable movie line takes a life of its own. The American Film Institute has come up with the top 100 movie quotes of all time. So, here are the top three.

MYERS: And?

COSTELLO: Oh, you think it. Go ahead.

MYERS: I could have been a contender. I could have been somebody.

COSTELLO: Of course...

MYERS: You're a bum. You're a bum, Rocky.

COSTELLO: I think Marlon Brando did it better.

MYERS: I'm sure.

COSTELLO: But that's number three. Number two is -- go ahead.

MYERS: I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse.

COSTELLO: "The Godfather." Again Marlon Brando. And the number one movie quote...

MYERS: Frankly, my dear, I don't give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

COSTELLO: Oh, that was pretty good.

MYERS: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Of course, that's from "Gone With the Wind."

MYERS: And number eight was...

COSTELLO: Clark Gable.

MYERS: ... may the force be with you.

COSTELLO: Really?

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Was that the most modern movie line on the list? Because most of the great lines came from really old movies.

MYERS: Go ahead, make my day, 1983. E.T., phone home, 1982. Number 23, there's no place like home, was "Wizard of Oz," obviously. I'll have what she's having, from "Harry Met Sally."

COSTELLO: Oh, yes.

MYERS: I'll be back, 1984, number 40. I see dead people, number 34.

COSTELLO: Oh, that was a good movie.

MYERS: Got to go.

COSTELLO: Got to go.

Movie rights, a book deal, a lot is in the works for the so- called runaway bride now. Jennifer Wilbanks doesn't particularly care for that nickname. And some people in her community are demanding paybacks. They may even file a lawsuit.

But first, it's time to say happy birthday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And welcome back to DAYBREAK. It's 6:49 Eastern. Here is what will be making news today.

Cosmo one, the first solar sail-powered spacecraft, may actually be alive and sending signals to tracking stations. It was thought the spacecraft was lost immediately after its launch from a Russian submarine.

A brushfire in the Arizona desert southwest of Phoenix has scorched about 40,000 acres. The fire on the Barry Goldwater Air Force Range is not threatening any buildings. The blaze is about 10 percent contained. Wow!

We've been talking a lot this morning about the runaway bride, how she's cashing in on her actions to the tune of 500,000 bucks from a book and movie deal. The question is: Should Jennifer Wilbanks profit? She did commit a felony.

Unfortunately, not much light was shed in NBC's exclusive interview with Wilbanks. She sat down with Katie Couric. Jennifer Wilbanks told Couric -- quote: "When I told John" -- her fiance -- "I was going to run, that's what I was doing. I was running away. That's what I've always done. That's what's comfortable to me."

Well, not everyone is comfortable with Wilbanks making money off of it, as I said.

Joining me live from Atlanta is Jeff Dauler, co-host and executive producer of the popular Atlanta radio show, "All the Hits," Q100's "Bert Show."

Good morning.

JEFF DAULER, "ALL THE HITS" Q100: Hi, there. How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm pretty good. So, what is this about a lawsuit?

DAULER: Well, we were talking about on the air a few days ago about the fact that Jennifer may make money off of this with the movie or whatever, and trying to come up with a way to prevent her from profiting from it. And, you know, it would be easy to boycott, or it would be easy to, you know, protest whoever picks up the movie. But in the end, she still gets her check.

So, we kind of came up with the idea on the air to file a class- action lawsuit against her, because so many people in this part of Georgia were affected by what happened.

COSTELLO: And you're seriously going to do this?

DAULER: Well, we've got the Web site up. It's suejennifer.com. And we're looking for lawyers. We've gotten a lot of interest. And I've sent letters back out to them. So, we're looking for lawyers to help. I've also heard from one of the state legislators who are -- they're going to consider doing a Son of Sam law thing here in Georgia to prevent people who have committed a felony from profiting from their crimes.

COSTELLO: You don't feel sorry for her at all, because during that interview with Katie Couric, she also said this. She says: "This is the part a lot of people don't know. I had a bottle of pills or I had the bus ticket. And I decided not to play God that day."

DAULER: I mean, she had so many more choices. She didn't have a bottle of pills or a bus ticket. She had a bottle of pills. She had friends. She had family. She had counselors. She was having a 600- person wedding. You're telling me that there weren't one of those 600 people she could turn to? She had a fiance. Like, she tries to make it so easy, oh, I had a choice. It was either I was going to take my own life or get on a bus. That's not true. She took the easy way out. COSTELLO: Well, you know, in listening to a bit of the interview -- because I listened to a bit of it yesterday -- she said she's not the type of person to go to her friends to ask for help. She keeps everything inside. And she runs away from her problems. And that's exactly what she did.

DAULER: I mean, that's fine, but you can't run away from your problems in a situation that's going to affect an entire community. People lost money. People took vacation days and company time to search for her.

And here's the thing that's really upsetting. The cost, you know, estimates are anywhere from $40,000 to $60,000 it cost the city of Duluth to search for her. But she only paid them back $13,000.

So, what she did on the week of her wedding is not really important at this point. What's important is the fact that she could end up with up to half-a-million dollars. And as far as I'm concerned, she still owes just the police department in Duluth $30,000.

COSTELLO: Jeff Dauler from Q100s "Bert Show" in Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you for joining us this morning. And keep us updated on that.

It's time to give away a DAYBREAK coffee mug now, Chad.

MYERS: My favorite time of day, Carol.

COSTELLO: Mine too.

MYERS: I'm always here for you. The questions from yesterday. How many people watched PBS programs in an average week during 2004? The answer was 81 million people watched PBS just during an average week. And, the answer from the question, what's the world's most expensive city? That was Tokyo. I got some people answering New York City. New York City is 13th on that list.

But the winner, Caio Costa from Gainseville, Florida. Mug in the mail for you.

Now your chance if you didn't get that one right or if you didn't get picked. What is the chance of a weapon of mass destruction attack in the next five years, according to a new survey of national security experts? And what movie line ranks third on the AFI's Top 100 list? We just did that one, Carol.

CNN.com/daybreak, there's a link. Give us your answers. We'll give you the winner tomorrow.

COSTELLO: I can't wait. Thanks for participating. It's always fun for us.

MYERS: And you'll be here, right?

COSTELLO: I will be here tomorrow, yes.

MYERS: OK.

COSTELLO: When we come back, more headlines and a look at your travel forecast. You are watching DAYBREAK for a Wednesday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: If you're hanging out at the airport with nothing to do, Chad has some information for you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: "Now in the News."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has joined Iraqi officials in calling for international help in rebuilding Iraq. More than 80 nations and groups are attending the conference right now at the European Union headquarters in Brussels.

In the meantime, in the Iraqi city of Najaf, thousands of supporters of the Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, took to the streets today. They were demanding Iraq's new government and U.S. authorities release detainees being held in U.S. prisons in Iraq.

An American spy plane has crashed in Southwest Asia. The U.S. military is not disclosing the location of the U2 plane or the fate of the pilot. The U2 is used on surveillance missions.

In Colorado Springs, is it hail? Oh, yes, it is hail. Up to a foot of it fell on the city's southeast side. And the summer solstice provided much of the nation with a beautiful view of an incredible full moon. Look at that. This was the view in Atlanta, Georgia, last night on the shortest night of the year.

And remember, you can view more CNN reports online. Just visit CNN.com. Click on to watch, and you can check out the most popular stories in a range of categories like politics, sports and entertainment.

From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Carol. I'm Soledad O'Brien. Found alive and now back home with his family. Eleven-year- old Brennan Hawkins released from a Utah hospital overnight. He was lost in the wilderness for four days. This morning, the Cub Scout's remarkable story of survival.

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