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American Morning

Fire Rages at Detroit Chemical Plant; Manhunt for Escaped Tennessee Prisoner; Iran Moves Toward Restarting Nuclear Program

Aired August 10, 2005 - 07:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Soledad O'Brien. An all-points bulletin. Two suspects, a husband and wife on the run after a brazen courthouse escape in Tennessee. One or both might be injured after that deadly shootout with police.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello, in for Miles, today. A suicide car bomb in Baghdad and ambush attack just to the north. Four U.S. soldiers among the dead.

O'BRIEN: And fireballs in the night sky. Huge explosions at a chemical plant in suburban Detroit, and the fire is still going strong on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Miles, finally, has a few days off, the poor guy.

COSTELLO: Can you imagine how tired Miles is?

O'BRIEN: I know because he called me to say he's utterly exhausted and taking a couple of days off.

COSTELLO: And goodnight.

O'BRIEN: Yes. Good-bye and don't call me back. Carol, though, is helping us out. So we appreciate that.

Today police in Tennessee searching far and wide for those two suspects. We begin there, this morning. Authorities want to know if any relatives or friends are helping to hide an escaped convict and his wife. Witnesses say Jennifer Hyatte shot and killed a corrections officer on Tuesday as her husband was being escorted from a court hearing.

The two then took off in an SUV. It happened outside the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston, Tennessee. That's about 35 miles southwest of Knoxville. David Mattingly is there for us this morning.

David, good morning to you. What a brazen escape. Have police been able to follow up any trail?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're getting leads literally from all over the state of Tennessee. They got them all throughout the night and probably continuing into the morning, this morning. It all begin right here in this parking lot with that broad daylight escape attempt and gunfire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Inmate George Hyatte walked out of the county courthouse in Kingston, Tennessee, looking at 30 more years in prison when he took matters into his own hands.

JIM WASHAM, POLICE CHIEF, KINGSTON: When the correctional officer brought him out, was loading him back up, a dark colored SUV appeared behind a van. Mr. Hyatte hollered to shoot him.

MATTINGLY: According to authorities, Hyatte's wife, a former prison nurse, opened fire, killing one officer. The two escaped, but it's believed one of them was wounded in the shootout. Hyatte's wife is identified as Jennifer Hyatte, who, according to a corrections spokeswoman, lost her job as a prison nurse because of her romantic relationship with the inmate she later married.

George Hyatte has a long and violent criminal history. He escaped from jail twice before, once in 1998 and again in 2002. Both times, he was recaptured in other states.

MARK GWYN, TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: I guess they just made the decision that they didn't have anything to lose and now was the most opportune time to make a break, and that's what they did.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY (on-camera): Last night you could look at the scene of the crime and see yellow police tape zig-zagging all over this parking lot. This morning, that tape has come down, suggesting that the collection of physical evidence is complete here, where this crime began. Now investigators tell me they are going to wherever the leads might take them -- Soledad?

O'BRIEN: David, here's a guy who's escaped from prison twice before this escape. Do you think that, essentially, they just failed in their security procedures for this guy?

MATTINGLY: They had extraordinary security precautions for him. He was shackled, he was handcuffed, e was wearing a chain belt. He was also escorted by two armed guards. Just speculating at this time, it's possible that the element of surprise in this unguarded parking lot was their undoing, not the security precautions they were taking for that individual inmate. So we'll see, as this investigation continues, where they actually decide that the fault lies.

O'BRIEN: David Mattingly for us this morning. David, thanks.

Just ahead, we're going to get an update from the Tennessee official who's now leading this investigation -- Carol?

COSTELLO: In Iraq, four U.S. soldiers on patrol were killed overnight when a Humvee hit an anti-tank mine and insurgents opened fire. The attack came in the city of Baiji, home to the country's largest oil refinery. That's about 130 miles north of Baghdad.

Also in Baghdad, today, a suicide bomb killed three Iraqi police officers. Aneesh Raman live in the Iraqi capital for us this morning.

Aneesh, let's start with the deaths of those four U.S. soldiers. How exactly did it happen?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning. The U.S. military is calling this a, quote, "complex attack" because of the coordination. As you mentioned, these Task Force Liberty soldiers driving in an armored vehicle to investigate an incident, hitting a land mine, and then after that explosion, insurgents coming on them with small arms fire.

It killed four of those soldiers, wounded six others, and, Carol, brings to 42 the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq in just the past week and a half alone -- Carol?

COSTELLO: Aneesh, also, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said, yesterday, that bombs found recently in southern Iraq were definitely smuggled in from Iran. So what does the Iraqi government say about this?

RAMAN: Well, they say they're looking into that accusation by the secretary. They, the Iraqi government, have made similar suggestions before. A year ago, around this time, during that standoff in Najaf, the then-defense minister said Iran was allowing weapons to come into that fight.

I spoke with the prime minister's spokesman a short time ago. He said that Ibrahim al-Jaafari brought up this specific point in his recent visit to Tehran last month, meeting with Iranian leaders, saying that they cannot interfere in Iraq's affairs, whether it be by allowing weapons in, or especially in the political realm. But they are being very cautious, Carol, with wording. Such is the enormously complex relationship between these two countries -- Carol?

COSTELLO: Aneesh Raman live in Baghdad this morning. Also, an American soldier has died after being wounded in Afghanistan. The soldier's unit was bombed while conducting anti-insurgent operations in Ghazni, which is south of Kabul. A second injured soldier was evacuated to the Bagram air base.

O'BRIEN: Iran plans to take another big step in restarting its nuclear program today. The U.N.'s nuclear agency, meeting again in Vienna, is going to urge Iran to stop. Senior international correspondent Walt Rodgers live, for us, in Vienna this morning.

Walt, what does the IAEA do now?

WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not very much. Its options are shrinking, and about the only thing the International Atomic Energy Agency seems unified in doing, at this point, is continued talking, talking to the Iranians. That is a diplomatic route.

The reason, of course, is there are 35 nations represented on the IAEA board of governors, and those 35 nations are divided in their approach as how to deal with the Iranians' defiance. It is that defiance which makes matters worse. Witness Cyrus Naseri's defiance of the United States yesterday on the nuclear processing issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CYRUS NASERI, IRANIAN DELEGATE TO IAEA: The United States is the sole nuclear weapons face (ph) which had the guts to drop a bomb, to kill and maim and turn into ashes millions in a split second. The United States is in no position whatsoever to tell anyone and to teach anyone as to what they should or should not do in their nuclear program.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RODGERS: Faced with that kind of defiance from Iran, the diplomats, here, in Vienna are going to have to do some fancy footwork to persuade the Iranians to stop that uranium enrichment process. Indeed, it may be a mission impossible -- Soledad?

O'BRIEN: It could be. Walt Rodgers for us in Vienna this morning. Walt, thanks --Carol?

COSTELLO: I am sure you've seen the pictures by now. Officials in suburban Detroit trying to assess the potential environmental threats from a huge chemical plant fire. Here are the pictures again. The blaze started late last night with a series of explosions at this hazardous waste facility in the town of Romulus.

Witnesses say the blast shook the ground and shot fireballs hundreds of feet into the air. Huge flames engulfed the plant well into the night. Art Edwards of Detroit affiliate WDIV is live in Romulus, which is about 25 miles southwest of Detroit.

Art, is the fire under control?

ART EDWARDS, REPORTER, WDIV: Well, they do have it all contained. They've had it contained for some time. But the police department is still out here blocking access to the plant. You can see there's still smoke in the distance because the fire is still burning at this point. There is still some smoke coming from there, but it is nothing like it was late last night.

About 9:00 is when this happened. There was an explosion at a place called EQ. What they do is recycle solvent, mostly acetone, de- icing fluid from airplanes. They reclaim the good things from that, and then they are able to use it again. There are eight tanks that contain acetone at the plant. The explosion took place right there. Those tanks have now melted.

The fire department is really staying back. They're going to allow this to burn itself out. There were nine people at the plant when the explosion took place. They had a little bit of warning. They knew that something was going on and they were able to sound an alarm and let each other know they needed to get out of the area.

They were able too get out of the area quickly. None of those workers were hurt. But several hundred people had to be evacuated because officials were concerned about what might be in the air. At this point, the EPA has done some testing.

They say that it looks like everything is going to be fine. But it still looks like people are going to be out of their homes for several more hours, maybe even into early afternoon before people are allowed to go home --Carol?

COSTELLO: I don't know, Art. If you can see the smoke from where you are, I don't know that I would be standing there.

EDWARDS: The good thing for us is that we are upwind. So the wind is blowing in a direction that doesn't allow the smoke to come near us.

COSTELLO: You're braver than I. Art Edwards from our Detroit affiliate WDIV. Thanks so much.

O'BRIEN: Well this morning, President Bush is heading to Aurora, Illinois, where he's going to sign the $286 billion transportation bill. It is packed with more than 6,000 special projects, which individual members of Congress wanted for their constituents. Dana Bash is live at the White House this morning.

Hey, Dana, good morning to you. The president said, "If this has too much pork, I'm going to veto this bill." And, of course, it has a lot of pork, doesn't it?

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. But don't be surprised, Soledad, if you hear the president talk about the fiscal discipline in this bill when he signs it later today. Because after that two years of negotiation, Congress did actually bring the price tag down to a bit to where Mr. Bush demanded that it be, at least pretty close.

But critics, of course, say that this is stuffed, still, with pet projects for members of Congress to bring back home. And as a matter of fact, it's got about $24 billion in special projects. Let's take a look at some of them. First of all, in Alaska, $230 million for a bridge connecting Gravina Island, which has the population of 50 people, with the Alaskan mainland.

Also, $5.9 million for a snowmobile trail in Vermont. $600,000 for a horse riding facility in Virginia. Now, some call it pork, members of Congress call it bringing home the bacon. You know, the ability to point to a bridge, to a road, even to maybe a bike path, to say that, "I brought that home for my constituents," is really the classic weapon that members of Congress use against challengers in campaigns.

Also, many argue that a big benefit is that it is a jobs bill. Now, Soledad, I'll just read you one quote from John McCain, who railed against this on the Senate floor, saying it's really bloated at a time of deficits. He said, "This Congress can weather any storm thrown at it as long as we have our pork lifesaver to cling to."

O'BRIEN: How much was the bridge in Alaska for 50 people?

BASH: $230 million for a bridge.

O'BRIEN: OK. Outside of the argument -- 50 people, maybe they could just get on a boat. Outside of that argument, $200 million for a bridge?

BASH: Well, you know, they argue -- the members of Congress from Alaska argue it's a very big state. It's very hard to get around. And that things like bridges are very important for people to be able to go about their lives. Also, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee is also from Alaska.

O'BRIEN: It's all becoming very clear to me. Dana, thank you very much.

BASH: Thank you.

COSTELLO: The weather is nasty in Alaska.

O'BRIEN: But 250 -- that's an expensive bridge. Not that I've built any myself. I mean...

COSTELLO: I like when you said, "Maybe they can just take a boat." It's insane.

O'BRIEN: You know, they deserve a bridge, but a $250 million -- doesn't that sound high?

COSTELLO: We're all going to pay for, for them. That's our gift, apparently.

O'BRIEN: We need to go to Alaska to use our bridge.

COSTELLO: Let's head to the forecast center and check in with Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm working this out in my head. That's $5 million a person. If you buy them a $1 million boat, you're $200 million to the good.

COSTELLO: They could have a beautiful ferry to ferry them across the water.

MYERS: They could all own a ferry, their own ferry for that matter. Golly.

81 degrees, this afternoon, in Denver. 93 in St. Louis, 90 in D.C., and 88 in New York City. 86 in Boston today. It is going to be warm ahead of the front, but it's going to be dry in New York City. Not so dry this morning, yet. Still a couple of showers, mainly offshore. A couple, now, near Block Island, Martha's Vineyard. But a lot of this is going to stay offshore. There may be some rain that moves on up towards the Cape and into Boston for today. But really, that's about it for any rain there.

For Boston, 86. 86 in Providence as well. Hartford, because you'll see more sunshine, you'll actually warm up a little bit more than Boston. New York City, 88, partly cloudy skies. Dry air has moved in. Still a little cloudy in some spots. But dryer air is moving in across the Northeast. 88 in Charlotte. 88 in Atlanta and no dry air. No relief at all for the Southeast. More rain for a rain-soaked area across the country.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

O'BRIEN: Still to come, this morning, a CNN security watch. Four 9/11 hijackers reportedly identified before the attack. So why wasn't that information ever passed along to law enforcement. We'll take a look at that.

COSTELLO: That's a good question. Also, outrage at Arlington national cemetery. Why did a convicted killer receive a funeral with full military honors?

O'BRIEN: And much more on that big manhunt in Tennessee. The lead investigator tells us the very latest, coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Tennessee police are looking for a husband and wife suspected in a deadly escape. Convicted armed robber George Hyatte was being taken from a courthouse in Kingston, Tennessee, on Tuesday. Police say his wife, Jennifer, drove up to the scene in an SUV. Hyatte yelled, "Shoot them," and then she opened fire on two corrections officers and killed one.

The two then left the scene. Police found the SUV with bloodstains on the driver's side. Mark Gwyn is the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. He's in Nashville this morning. Mr. Gwyn, thanks for talking with us.

MARK GWYN, DIRECTOR, TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: An incredibly brazen escape. Do you have, at this point, any leads or any sightings?

GWYN: We don't have any sightings. We ran upward of probably 50 different leads all night last night with state, local, and federal authorities. Obviously, that's our top priority right now, is to bring George and Jennifer Hyatte into custody and let them answer for the crimes they've committed.

O'BRIEN: My understanding is that it looks as if Mrs. Hyatte is the one who's been shot and injured. The amount of blood in the car, a fair amount, isn't it? What does that lead you to believe about their next steps potentially?

GWYN: Well, we do believe at some point either George or Jennifer Hyatte will have to receive some medical attention. That's why we have all hospitals throughout the state on alert, that if someone comes in fitting George or Jennifer Hyatte's description, to please call the local authorities or the TBI. O'BRIEN: George Hyatte escaped, now, three times. Did he have enough security around the perimeter where his wife was able to, essentially, drive up without any sort of area blocked off and open fire?

GWYN: Well, from what we can tell right now, there was adequate security. It was just a very brazen kind of Bonnie and Clyde type escape. And when people are desperate and they have nothing to lose, this is what happens.

O'BRIEN: He's a guy who'd been charged with armed robbery. I guess he was facing 30 years in prison. Tell me a little bit about Jennifer, or what you know about Jennifer Hyatte. They apparently met in prison, right? She was a nurse. Did she have any kind of criminal background?

GWYN: No criminal background that we can tell at this time. Yes, they did meet in prison. She was on contract labor as a nurse. In 2004, they were married. And that's really, right now, about all we know. We do feel like that this escape was well thought out and well planned.

O'BRIEN: What gives you sense that it's well planned?

GWYN: Well, there were several vehicles that were placed in strategic areas that aided in this escape.

O'BRIEN: Where do you think the couple's headed now? Obviously, as you say, they've got to get medical help at some point.

GWYN: Well, I wish I knew. We don't know at this time. But I can tell you we have a lot of law enforcement officials on the ground, here in Tennessee, and I do feel confident that, within a short matter of time, we will be able to bring both of these individuals into custody.

O'BRIEN: Do you think they might be headed for the border?

GWYN: That's a possibility, absolutely. That's a possibility.

O'BRIEN: Mark Gwyn is the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Thanks for your time this morning. Appreciate it.

GWYN: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Carol?

COSTELLO: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, more bad news for the airline industry. The latest carrier on the brink of bankruptcy and what it will mean to you. "Minding Your Business" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Following up, now, on a story we brought to you about a man who claimed the video game "Grand Theft Auto" drove him to gun down three members of an Alabama police department. Well, a jury convicted 20-year-old Devin Moore for the killings, which took place two years ago.

Juries just didn't buy Moore's claim of , quote, "mental defect caused by hours of playing that game," in which players shoot police officers and steal cars. Moore could face the death penalty.

O'BRIEN: Business news now. Warnings that at least two more airlines could be headed for bankruptcy. Are oil costs to blame? Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business."

Good morning to you. It can't just be oil.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" COLUMNIST: It has a lot to do with that, though, Soledad. And it's everything. It's the work environment. It's things going on with the unions. But really, the price of oil is really putting a huge dent in this already sick industry.

Let's talk about Delta Airlines. This company looks closer and closer to the brink these days. Yesterday, a Wall Street analyst put a rare sell order on the stock, which fell below $2. Delta also said it would delay its SEC filing because it needs time to work out a new deal with Visa and Mastercard. You have to have a cash deposit with the credit card companies. They don't have a lot of cash.

Fuel costs at this company. Every dollar, additional dollar, of jet fuel cost is $60 million for Delta. That means they're going to be paying an additional $1 billion for fuel this year. Look how much money they've lost, Soledad, since 2002. $8.8 billion. The $5 billion in '04 is because of a write-off. That's just huge money. You just can't continue to operate without filing bankruptcy here. The stock's gone from $60 to below $2 over the past couple of years.

And another one, seemingly, biting the dust, also yesterday. Independence airlines, which flies out of Dulles in Washington, D.C., announcing that it is very close to Chapter 11 and, in fact, could liquidate, which means shutting down completely. This company started only 14 months ago -- 14 months ago -- as a discount carrier.

Again, jet fuel and other problems hurting them hard. Again, it was a $30 stock. It's now at 48 cents. You know, we might have a situation, Soledad, coming up over the next couple months where we have United and U.S. Air. They're already bankrupt. Possibly Delta. There's talk about Northwest filing for bankruptcy even and Independence Air. A good half of the business.

O'BRIEN: They have to figure out a way to redo -- I mean, you can't have a business model where 50 percent of all the carriers are bankrupt.

SERWER: Yes, it's truly staggering. And I think what it says is that Washington is going to have to intervene in a much bigger way than it has already.

O'BRIEN: I agree. All right, Andy, thanks.

SERWER: You're welcome. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place for military heroes and a convicted killer. The outrage from his victims' children ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. It is just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Coming up, how long before the September 11th attacks did U.S. intelligence know that Mohammed Atta and three other hijackers were linked to Al Qaeda? A question causing big debate, now. The 9/11 commission, once again, getting involved once again. We'll have a look at that ahead.

COSTELLO: We certainly will. And if you're wondering, Miles O'Brien, he's taking a much-needed rest. He's exhausted. He collapsed yesterday.

O'BRIEN: This is not Miles. Miles is taking the day off.

COSTELLO: Actually, this is Miles.

O'BRIEN: Shuttle's up, shuttle's down. Miles is gone.

COSTELLO: Exactly. But he'll be back on Monday.

Let's check in with Fredricka Whitfield, she's at the CNN center.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: I think he deserves a break.

COSTELLO: He does.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, now in the news, a statewide manhunt in Tennessee for an escaped convict and his wife. The prisoner, George Hyatte, was being escorted from a courthouse by armed guards when, according to authorities, his wife drove up and opened fire. The shooting left one guard dead. Police are now pursuing leads to find the pair. They believe one or both may be wounded.

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