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American Morning

Prime Time Address; Walton Legacy; Second Shark Attack

Aired June 28, 2005 - 08:59   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A shark attacks a 16-year-old boy off the Florida coast. Doctors are forced to amputate his leg. The teen faces even more surgery today.
At least 20 large wildfires are now burning out West. Homes are at risk. Residents have been forced out. We've got a live report on that just ahead.

And inside the mind of a serial killer. Did the BTK murderer enjoy telling a courtroom full of people the gruesome details of his 30-year crime spree? We'll take a look at that on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, I wonder if that woman has any idea that she was just...

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I don't think she does, but her hair looks great.

S. O'BRIEN: ... fixing her hair.

M. O'BRIEN: It looks good.

S. O'BRIEN: It looks good.

M. O'BRIEN: I like the ponytail.

All right. Good morning. You look marvelous out there.

Also ahead, we'll get a live preview of tonight's speech by President Bush on U.S. strategy in Iraq.

S. O'BRIEN: And, in fact, it's coming as the president's approval ratings continue to drop. We're going to take a look at just what's at stake tonight.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's check headlines first, though. Carol Costello here with that.

Hello, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Good morning to you.

"Now in the News," some 1,000 U.S. Marines, soldiers and sailors are out in full force west of Baghdad. Operation Sword was launched early this morning in Iraq's Anbar province. American and Iraqi troops are working to root out insurgents and foreign fighters in the region.

An off-duty police officer hailed as a hero is recovering this morning after being stabbed at a doughnut shop in New York. A surveillance camera caught the dramatic struggle.

The officer wrestled a knife-wielding robber and was stabbed on his left side. The police officer is being credited for saving a shop clerk's life. Police know who the suspect is and they are now looking for him.

Two U.S. citizens indicted or terror-related charges will be formally arraigned today in New York. One of the men is Rafiq Sabir, a doctor. The other a jazz musician named Tarik Shah. The men said to be long-time friends are accused of conspiring to provide support to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. Defense attorneys have denied the charges.

The Senate is expected to approve its version of the energy bill today. The measure ignores some of the most controversial energy issues. For example, it says nothing about drilling in Alaska's Wildlife Refuge. President Bush has called on Congress to give him an energy bill for approval in August.

And there she is, y'all. The Miss America Pageant is moving to the Country Music Television cable station. CMT picking up the rights for the telecast for at least two years, with a chance to renew.

ABC dropped the show after ratings nose-dived last year. So who knows? This could spell the end for the Miss America Pageant.

S. O'BRIEN: I don't know.

COSTELLO: Isn't that something? I don't know. If it doesn't get ratings on CMT, it will drop it, too.

S. O'BRIEN: There are five zillion channels. The Miss America Pageant will go on into perpetuity.

COSTELLO: You think?

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: There'll be an audience for it. But if Miss Alabama wins, you know the fix is in. All right? Just my take on that one.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thanks very much.

COSTELLO: Sure.

M. O'BRIEN: President Bush will speak to the nation tonight as support for the war in Iraq keeps dropping. Today is the first anniversary of the handover of sovereignty to the Iraqis.

David Ensor live at the White House with the preview of the speech.

David, good morning.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

Well, the message will be one of tests, that this is a time of testing, and that the president hopes the American public will show resolve and patience.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (voice-over): This president has long favored speaking before military audiences, with their high level of respect for the commander-in-chief. But this speech is aimed at the nation as a whole at a time when support for the Iraq war and for the president are slipping.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president recognizes one of his most important responsibilities during a time of war is to keep the American people informed about the situation.

ENSOR: The latest CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll shows 53 percent of those questioned now say it was a mistake to have gone to war in the first place. Fifty-one percent say the U.S. should set a timetable for withdrawal.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Why would you say to the enemy, you know, here's the timetable, just go ahead and wait us out? It doesn't make any sense to have a timetable.

ENSOR: As for Mr. Bush himself, his approval rating is down to 45 percent, and only 37 percent think he has a clear plan for Iraq. With the insurgency exacting a high price in blood, it is time, aides concede, for the administration to do some plain speaking on the war.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Setbacks are inevitable, and important victories are seldom won without risk, sacrifice and patience.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: White House officials say the only way the insurgents could win in Iraq would be if large numbers of the American public could be convinced to turn against the war, and they don't expect that. They remember Vietnam, they do not expect to repeat, but they do feel strongly that it's time for the president to reach out and try to shore up his support in the United States -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, David. David Ensor at the White House.

The president's speech will be live on CNN tonight, of course, 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific. CNN's special coverage beginning at 7:00 Eastern -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: The plane crash that killed billionaire John Walton is under investigation today. John Walton was one of five heirs to the vast Wal-Mart fortune. National park Rangers now looking for what caused that crash last night in Jackson, Wyoming, near Yellowstone Park.

Sean Callebs is live for us in front of Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, this morning.

Sean, you've got to imagine a real shock and lots of people grieving this morning.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, without question, Soledad. We've been out here for the past couple of hours watching legions of workers continue to file into the corporate headquarters you see behind us. And certainly a lot of them going in with very somber, very sobering thoughts, and with heavy hearts.

If they didn't know that John Walton passed away yesterday, they certainly found out this morning. Here's how the local paper is carrying the story, pushing many major stories off the front page. Just screaming the headline, "John Walton Dead at 58," pointing out that he died in a Wyoming plane crash.

Of course, Arkansas is the epicenter for the family empire, but John Walton didn't live or ultimately die here. He lived in Wyoming and died yesterday when that small plane crashed shortly after takeoff around 10:00 local time.

Another phrase you're going to hear throughout the day, "Heir to the Walton family fortune." And with a personal fortune estimated at close to $20 billion, that's certainly a good reason to say that. But really John Walton was so much more.

He was a husband, a father. He leaves behind three siblings, a mother. He was also a decorated Vietnam veteran, serving as a medic. Wal-Mart says he won a Silver Star for heroism during the Vietnam War.

Also, he resisted efforts from his father to join this family company for so long, finally joining the board in 1992. But he really kept a very low profile, Soledad, over the years, and really focused his efforts on the charitable arm that the family operates over the years, donating hundreds of millions of dollars to charity, chiefly for education. You hear it from civic and business leaders here in Arkansas, his voice, his passion, his integrity are certainly going to be missed -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, a huge loss certainly. All right. Sean Callebs for us this morning. Sean, thanks -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: In Florida, a 16-year-old boy is in critical condition this morning. His leg amputated following a shark attack Monday.

It happened in waist-high waters off the coast of Cape San Blas in north Florida. That's about 95 miles east of Miramar Beach, where a girl was killed by a shark Saturday.

Adaora Udoji is in Cape San Blas.

Adaora, the beach going to be open today?

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Miles. It's been closed since the shark attack, but we do expect that it will open around midday today.

Also, some very good news for the Hutto family. The doctors say their son Craig, his prognosis, they're saying, is excellent. They did have to amputate his right leg, but they say he's young and healthy, and that they expect he will recover well from the shark attack that happened, as you said, on this beach, Cape San Blas, less than 24 hours ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UDOJI (voice-over): Medics worked quickly on 16-year-old Craig Hutto, the latest shark attack victim. He was on vacation with his family from Tennessee. He had been fishing with his brother at Cape San Blas Beach, using shrimp as bait. They were about 60 yards from the shore, waist high in the Gulf of Mexico.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We heard a lot of commotion, and we thought at first that they were playing in the water.

UDOJI: The shark had attacked.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We realized after seeing a spray of red in the water that we were not dealing with any kind of prank.

UDOJI: The shark had taken a vicious bite out of Hutto's leg. He was pulled ashore, and a doctor who just happened to be there on the beach immediately began giving emergency care.

His parents were there the entire time as their son lay devastatingly injured. The teenager spent two hours in surgery with what a Bay Medical Center spokeswoman described as severe injuries to his leg and hands. Afterwards, he was listed in critical, but stable, condition.

It's the second attack since Saturday. Authorities say it was a bull shark that fatally attacked 14-year-old Louisiana teen Jamie Daigle 95 miles west of the Hutto scene. That beach was closed for a day. When it reopened, the sheriff's department had doubled the beach officers patrolling and added more air surveillance.

ERICH RITTER, THE SHARK RESEARCH INSTITUTE: The question, of course, is why do they come that close? If you have like a change of water temperature, a change of currents, that changes how many bay fish you have close shore.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UDOJI: We're also told this morning that Craig Hutto, the victim, will undergo a second surgery. Doctors saying that he suffered serious injuries to his hands as he was trying to, Miles, fend off that shark.

M. O'BRIEN: Adaora, there aren't a lot of lifeguards along that beach, are there?

UDOJI: No, not at all. In fact, from what we understand, in this county most beaches do not have lifeguards. But if you can see the signs here, "Beach closed." But we were also told by some people yesterday afternoon that there were many who were just ignoring those signs because it was a sunny yesterday, not raining like today. They were ignoring those signs and going right into the water, even knowing that a shark attack had just taken place.

M. O'BRIEN: Swim at your own risk, as they say. Adaora Udoji. Appreciate it. Thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Another look at the weather this morning 10 minutes after the hour. Chad Myers is at the CNN Center for us.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Chad.

Still to come, an explosive segment. An important warning as the Fourth of July approaches, an annual one. We hope you're listening. We'll give you the fireworks safety tips.

S. O'BRIEN: Also this morning, the Supreme Court wrapping up a term with a flurry of big decisions. Jeff Toobin's going to tell us why this year was unusual for the high court.

M. O'BRIEN: And inside the mind of the BTK murderer. What motivated Dennis Rader's killing spree? A forensic psychiatrist will join us.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Sentencing is set for August 17 in the case of admitted BTK killer Dennis Rader. On Monday, Rader pleaded guilty to murdering 10 people in the Wichita, Kansas, area. He was calm and matter of fact as he described the killings, one by one, in horrific detail. Family members were looking on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENNIS RADER, BTK KILLER: First of all, Mr. Otero was strangled -- or a bag put over his head and strangled. Then I thought he was going down. And I went over and strangled Mrs. Otero. And I thought she was down.

Then I strangled Josephine, thought she was down. And then I went over to junior and put the bag on his head.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz has interviewed serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and other high-profile killers as well. He's in Irvine, California, this morning.

It's nice to see you, Dr. Dietz. Thanks for talking with us.

You know, I thought that testimony in court was so just scary and revealing in many ways. And I want to ask you some questions about the specifics.

For example, he talked about -- well, he kind of went on and on in court -- the sexual fantasies that motivated these killings. And yet, while that was the motivation for a lot of these killings, he didn't really go into that part of it. And this was a guy who was giving detail after detail after detail.

Did that seem like an obvious omission to you, and why?

DR. PARK DIETZ, FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIST: Well, yes, it was an important omission, and it's one I see all the time when I'm examining men like this. The killing is an easy thing for him to talk about, particularly if he makes it sound as though he's a hit man, because that's kind of glamorized in our culture. But the perverse sexuality is something that he's avoiding mention of and doesn't say a word about any sexual pleasure from the suffering of his victims.

Yet, from his description of what he did, one can infer that his real goal was to enjoy the suffering of female victims while he tortured them. Yet he's silent on that point.

S. O'BRIEN: His cool manner I think I just found so incredibly disturbing. Did it surprise you, or was that sort of standard operating procedure for a serial killer?

DIETZ: Well, of the people I examine who are killers, half of them are calm and matter of fact like him. The other half have something wrong with them that makes it obvious just from talking to them.

This is chilling to the public because we expect people like this to be so different, we can see them coming. And they're not. They're like the guy next door. And that's a problem.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it makes it creepier almost. I mean, listen. This is when he's talking about the killing of Nancy Fox that took place in 1977. And he almost sounds not like a killer, but a professor. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RADER: If you read much about serial killers, they go through what they call the different phases. That's one of the phases they go through is -- as a trolling stage. Basically, you're looking for a victim at that time. And you could be trolling for months or years. But once you lock in on a certain person, then you become stalking. And that might be several of them, but you really hone in on that person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: OK. First of all, is he right? And secondly, is it typical for serial killers to sort of study their craft? It's a horrible way to put it, but I don't really know what other word to use there. As if they're studying it like a professor?

DIETZ: Yes. Today it is common.

In the past, they didn't have many sources for this. They would look at forensic pathology text or homicide text. But now they're reading the memoirs of the retired FBI profilers, and they're getting all the lingo.

And the cues to that in his statements yesterday have to do with the passage you just played and his talking about a "kit." This comes right out of the lingo developed at the FBI Academy in the late '70s, early '80s. And he couldn't have read about it during his early crimes, but he has since then.

S. O'BRIEN: Here is a guy -- I thought serial killers were usually the weirdo loner kind of guys. He's been married for a long time. How is it possible that his family wasn't aware of what he was doing? And how much of that creates the serial killer?

DIETZ: Well, you know, this is a secret life for many of these men. And they conceal it from their families the same way other men conceal affairs or their gambling habit.

This is what he does on his off time. It's his hobby. You have to wonder why nobody asks questions about this sort of thing. But it's just a normal secret.

S. O'BRIEN: It's really bizarre. I thought everything about this case has just been completely bizarre. Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz, thanks for talking with us and clearing up some of this really disturbing details, I think. Appreciate it.

DIETZ: My pleasure.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: To hear it described as a hobby, too, which is probably how he squared it in his sick mind, you know, as a hobby.

S. O'BRIEN: It was just so clinical.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: I mean, literally. It was the most -- like it was the most normal thing anybody did. Like he was discussing really a hobby, I guess. M. O'BRIEN: Clearly hard to watch.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I thought so.

M. O'BRIEN: Fourth of July coming up. Fireworks as American as apple pie. Ooh. Not that, though. Don't do that, folks.

Safety tips to keep you and the family safe this holiday. There goes the watermelon. It's an annual event.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: From sea to shining sea, Americans will turn out to watch fireworks displays on July 4. And many, of course, will do their own displays. And, that, folks, is the danger.

According to a government study released this morning, there were nearly 10,000 fireworks-related injuries in 2004. About 70 percent occurred in a one-month period, around the 4th, of course. And more than half of the victims, we're sad to tell you, were children and teenagers.

Hal Stratton is the chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, joining us from The Mall in Washington to talk about fireworks safety.

Hal, good to have you with us. You've got some legal fireworks and illegal fireworks right in front of you. Why don't you just quickly explain what you have there.

HAL STRATTON, CHAIRMAN, CPSC: Well, first of all, we have legal fireworks over here to my right, to the camera left. And as you can see, this is the largest legal firecracker that you can buy. But all of these are legal.

M. O'BRIEN: That's like a little cherry bomb -- that's kind of like a little cherry bomb-type thing, right?

STRATTON: It's not like a cherry bomb, because cherry bombs are now illegal.

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, they are?

STRATTON: Cherry bombs are about this big.

M. O'BRIEN: OK.

STRATTON: They are. Cherry bombs -- I know. Back when you and I were younger, at least I was younger, cherry bombs were used quite a bit. But they're now illegal.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

STRATTON: This was an M-80, which were also very popular. That's also illegal. And you can see the difference in size between these two firecrackers.

And we're going to -- you're going to show a demonstration of one of these in a moment. And also, this is an M-1,000 that...

M. O'BRIEN: Wow, that looks menacing. That looks like a stick of dynamite or something. That looks big.

STRATTON: ... people are also making. It's about half a stick of dynamite. It's very dangerous. They're illegal.

People go out, buy illegal components and try to make these. This is where we see most of the major injuries and deaths, is from these illegal fireworks and people using them improperly.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out an M-1,000 is a bad idea. But sparklers, sparklers themselves are a bad idea. Aren't they?

They're very hot. And, of course, you tend to give sparklers to much younger children. As we look at this demonstration, here's what happens.

What, more than 2,000 degrees there. And it's not too long before this dress is set alight, right?

STRATTON: That's right. Sparklers burn up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. You give them to very little kids because people have the -- or parents have the allusion that they're safe. So any time you're using sparklers you need to have abject supervision over the kids if you're going to use them, because they can be very dangerous, as the video shows.

S. O'BRIEN: All right. Supervision is a watch word that you should keep in mind with all of this. Let's talk about M-80s.

When I was growing up, maybe they weren't illegal. We sure had a lot of them. But I guess nowadays we shouldn't be doing that. Should be telling the kids, don't do this, because look what happens.

An M-80 has a lot of force. How does that compare to a stick of dynamite, an M-80?

STRATTON: Well, I think an M-80 is something like a one-eighth stick of dynamite depending upon how you measure it. Regardless, it's illegal, it's too big. They blow people's hands off, and they can cause death.

And if you start using these, or you start working with them illegally, you're very likely to get a visit from the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives division of the Justice Department.

M. O'BRIEN: OK.

STRATTON: So they're also illegal. So don't use M-80s.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. M-1000, which you can tell just by its name is a bigger thing, and once again, this just obliterates the watermelon there. How do people get a hold of these things?

STRATTON: Well, a lot of them buy the components illegally on the Internet or from some -- we have some people out there selling illegal components and actually selling these. So you can get them if you look around.

We're trying to stop that. We're working with ATFE and the Homeland Security and the Justice Department to interdict as many of these as we can, but we still do see them.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. I have some kids who love to set off fireworks around the 4th. And how do I make it safe? What's the best way to go about it?

STRATTON: Well, the first thing is, is you don't give fireworks to kids that are too small. They're too dangerous. We see too many injuries -- 50 percent of the injuries, as you indicated.

So you don't give them to kids that are too small. Any time you're working with fireworks at all and kids are around, you need adult supervision at all times.

And by the way, Miles, that goes for everything in the product safety area. Adult supervision is the key to safety. So the more adult supervision you have, the better off you are.

If you're using fireworks, you want to make sure that you have a bucket of water or a fire extinguisher handy in case something goes wrong, because they do cause fires and you want to be prepared to deal with that. And then finally, when you're out buying fireworks, make sure that you buy legal fireworks. You need to look for the labels.

All legal fireworks have proper labeling on them. If they don't have a label, they're illegal. And if they're too big like this, then you can be pretty sure that they're illegal as well. And as you can see, this M-1000 doesn't have a label.

So buy legal fireworks and be safe. If you want to see the big things, go to the shows and, you know, watch the professionals set them off.

M. O'BRIEN: Let the professionals do it. Of course the kids like to light them themselves. And that's not a good idea either. Hal Stratton, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, thanks very much for your time. Appreciate it.

STRATTON: Thank you, Miles. Thanks.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, a live report from Aruba about the Natalee Holloway case. Is the investigation now back to square one? A look at that ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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