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CNN Live At Daybreak
Courthouse Shooting Couple Captured in Ohio; Prison Lovers
Aired August 11, 2005 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It is Thursday, August 11. They ran, but they couldn't hide. A fugitive couple who made a courthouse escape under a blaze of gunfire has been captured.
President Bush signs a massive highway bill into law, but is it road overkill?
And...
(MUSIC)
A new song may have the Stones rolling in political controversy.
Good morning. From the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in today for Carol Costello.
We'll have more on the fugitive capture in Columbus in a moment.
Just ahead, it's now Tropical Storm Irene. Chad Myers will have the latest developments in just a few minutes.
And want a ride to the moon? It is possible, but it will cost you. We'll tell you how much.
First, "Now in the News."
One of two students who killed four middle school kids and a teacher gets out of prison today. It's been seven years since the school shootings in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Today is the convicted shooter, Mitchell Johnson's, 21st birthday. He was prosecuted as a juvenile, and since he's not one anymore he gets out.
A new test fire. Pakistan today launched its first cruise missile. It's capable of carrying nuclear and conventional warheads. It can be fired from warships, submarines and fighter planes. Pakistan did not give a heads up to India, its rival and nuclear neighbor.
And a big blastoff. A Thai-owned communications satellite billed as the world's largest launched about 30 minutes ago off French Guinea. The satellite will provide Internet access and multi-media services for the Asia Pacific region, Australia, and New Zealand.
And good morning to you, Chad. It was on again, off again...
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We were just about to see it.
WHITFIELD: Ooh, sorry about that.
MYERS: Oh, that's OK.
WHITFIELD: You'll get another chance to see it.
MYERS: We saw the rocket sitting there, finally it blasted off. There it goes.
WHITFIELD: There it is.
MYERS: Hey, it made it all the way up there. So far, so good. Deploying the satellite right now.
WHITFIELD: See, ask and you shall receive.
MYERS: There you go.
Thanks, guys, down in the control room. I hate to have -- not to lose the crescendo there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
WHITFIELD: Our top story: the modern-day Bonnie and Clyde are captured. Two people wanted in a fatal courthouse shootout in Tennessee were nabbed in Ohio late last night. Our David Mattingly has details from Kingston, Tennessee, the scene of the crime.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What began with deadly violence ended peacefully as George and Jennifer Hyatte were apprehended in a hotel room in Columbus, Ohio. The couple had been on the run for 36 hours after authorities say Jennifer Hyatte shot and killed a state corrections officer in order to free her husband from custody.
The two covered hundreds of miles from Kingston, Tennessee. Their arrest came after agents in northern Kentucky recovered a stolen van believed to be their getaway car.
MARK GWYN, TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: I think they had a plan. Did it go off the way they wanted it to or expected it to? I doubt it. So once -- you know, once a plan goes awry, a lot of times you just go on instinct. And I think when the plan went bad they just probably took off and just started trying to get outside the county. And then once you get outside the county, you try to get outside the state.
MATTINGLY: Tennessee investigators, it turns out, were correct in their belief that Jennifer Hyatte had been wounded in an exchange of gunfire that started this manhunt. Federal authorities in Ohio say she required medical attention, but her injury was not life- threatening.
After court appearances in Ohio, the couple were returned to Roane County, Tennessee, to face murder charges.
David Mattingly, CNN, Kingston, Tennessee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: George and Jennifer Hyatte have an unusual love story, one that took place behind prison walls.
CNN's Alina Cho has details now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was prison that brought them together. He was said to be a smooth-taking inmate and a ladies' man. She was a nurse at the prison. They met last year. And before long, they were in love.
MICHAEL HYATTE, BROTHER OF GEORGE HYATTE: The thing is, he's a nice, loving, easy-going guy.
CHO: The courts saw things a bit differently. George Hyatte is a violent career criminal, a career that began at age 9. His wife of three months, Jennifer, has never been in trouble with the law, until now.
(on-camera): Why they came together is still a mystery. Yet, this much is known. Shortly after Jennifer began working at the prison, and the two met, she smuggled in food, considered contraband. She later admitted it was for George. And because of that, and for what the prison called her inappropriate relationship with him, she was fired.
(voice-over): That was August of last year. The very next month, George Hyatte was transferred to another Tennessee prison. Jennifer followed him, moving to Nashville. Two months later, the couple applied for a marriage license. When the warden granted them the license, they married in prison, in May.
Fast forward to earlier this week. Jennifer Hyatte, police say, is determined to set her husband free. Regina Bishop is George Hyatte's sister.
REGINA HYATTE, SISTER OF GEORGE HYATTE: The escape thing, both of them's fault. Murder, her fault. And I'm putting it that way because she pulled the trigger.
CHO (on-camera): But either way, you want them back safely.
R. HYATTE: Either way, I want them both back here safely. I want justice done.
CHO (voice-over): We may not know much about Jennifer, about what makes her tick. We do know that, for whatever reason, she was desperate enough, apparently, to do anything to be with the man she loved.
Alina Cho, CNN, Dayton, Tennessee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Terror suspect Haroon Rashid Aswat will be in a British court next hour. It's a hearing to determine if he should be extradited to the United States. He was arrested in Zambia, and just recently extradited to Britain to face terrorism charges there.
Here's a look at what we know about Aswat. He is a suspected al Qaeda operative, 30 years old, and a British-born citizen of Indian heritage. He's wanted in the U.S. in connection with at least one terrorism case. He allegedly planned to help build a terror training camp in Oregon. He's also believed to have provided support to the people who bombed the London transit system July 7.
London's police chief has a warning for people working in the city's financial district. He says there's no specific intelligence on it, but says the area is at high risk for another attack. He also says terrorists have already surveyed targets in the area.
For more on the terror investigations both in London and here in the United States, head to CNN.com/terror.
Discovery was undamaged after the latest shuttle mission. A NASA spokeswoman says it's one of the cleanest vehicles they've ever seen. Meanwhile, the crew received a hero's welcome when they arrived in Houston. The families were flown in from Florida to greet them as they arrived from the California landing site.
Discovery commander Eileen Collins told the crowd that it took a labor of love to get the shuttle program back in space.
And now you may be able to enjoy space flight just like the shuttle astronauts, or sort of kind of like it. A company called Space Adventures has announced plans to send space tourists to the moon. They say a trip around the moon could be available as early as 2008, but it comes with a $100 million price tag.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC ANDERSON, CEO, SPACE ADVENTURES: You know, $100 million is a very large amount of money. It is that amount of money because this is the first mission. Despite the fact that it's so much money, we know there are at least a couple of thousand of people around the world who have the financial wherewithal to be able to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The trip aboard a Russian spacecraft could bring travelers about 100 miles from the surface of the moon.
Now a follow-up on a story we brought to you yesterday about a chemical plant fire. About 900 homes in suburban Detroit are still under evacuation orders this morning, and the chemical plant is still smoldering after the fiery series of explosions Tuesday night. At least 32 people, including firefighters, have been treated at area hospitals. The plant recycles chemicals such as airplane de-icing fluid and industrial paint solvents.
In the wake of two high-profile cases of lung cancer, anchorman Peter Jennings and now Christopher Reeve's widow, Dana Reeve, Louisville, Kentucky, today is scheduled to revisit a proposed public smoking ban. The ban in Louisville, Kentucky's largest city would include restaurants and most businesses, other public buildings, but exclude bars. More and more businesses in Kentucky, including restaurants, are going smoke-free voluntarily.
It's a far cry from yesteryear, when Kentucky was the hub of big tobacco. Today, the adult smoking rate in Kentucky is 27 percent, highest in the nation. And it's the leading state for deaths from lung cancer. Smoking-related health care costs, Kentucky nearly 1.5 billion a year.
The proposal before the Louisville City Council today would charge businesses $200 to put up a sign if smoking is permitted. So
So we want to broaden the focus to the entire country -- Chad.
MYERS: They just passed the law here in Georgia, no smoking in public buildings, no smoking in restaurants. A lot of restaurants are still smoking, though, going against the law. But we'll see how that goes.
We want to know what you think. Should this just be nationwide? Should there be a federal law banning smoking in public?
DAYBREAK@CNN.com is our e-mail bag if you want to send us something there. Or maybe just let the market decide. If you put up a "no smoking" on one side and "smoking" on the other, or a different restaurant, see where the patrons go. We'll see.
WHITFIELD: And that's why it's such a heated debate.
MYERS: That's right.
WHITFIELD: All right, Chad. Thanks so much.
MYERS: You're welcome.
WHITFIELD: Well, the news of Peter Jennings' death and Dana Reeve's lung cancer diagnosis apparently prompted a significant jump in calls to the American Cancer Society's quit line. Calls on Monday and Tuesday were up about 50 percent from last week.
And you can call, too. The toll-free number is American Cancer Society, or 1-877-937-7848, or 1-877-YES-QUIT.
Coming up, a daycare van and school bus collide in a major accident involving a whole lot of kids.
Also ahead, did the ringleader of the September 11 attacks fall through the fingers of intelligence officials?
And later, they're gathering no moss. That's for sure. We'll talk to the Rolling Stones about their new album.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The international markets are mixed this morning. Tokyo's Nikkei is higher by 165 points. The London FTSE is down 13 points. And the German DAX is lower by 33.
Your news, money, weather and sports. It is now 14 minutes after the hour, and here's what's all new this morning.
The fugitive couple wanted in connection with a fatal Tennessee courthouse shooting has been captured. George and Jennifer Hyatte were found in a motel room in Columbus, Ohio. They were arrested without incident.
The Navy said it believes a purported al Qaeda video shows the I.D. card and weapon of one of the Navy SEALs killed in Afghanistan in June. Petty Officer Danny Dietz was part of a four-man reconnaissance team.
In money, oil prices are up again. The price hit a record $65 a barrel after a key energy report that oil stockpiles are down.
And in culture, actress Barbara Bel Geddes has died of lung cancer. She's best known for her role as Miss Ellie on TV's "Dallas." Barbara Bel Geddes was 82.
In sports, disgruntled Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens has been sent home from camp. Owens was told to stay away from the training camp for about a week after he got into a heated argument with head coach Andy Reid.
Shame, shame -- Chad.
MYERS: Well, you know, he said he wanted to be traded. So I guess that's a good way to get it done, yell at the coach.
WHITFIELD: He's getting close.
MYERS: Good morning, everybody.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks very much.
Kind of toasty in some places and very dry in others, making for a difficult time for a lot of firefighters, particularly in Washington State, Chad.
MYERS: Very typical summertime. WHITFIELD: Yes. More than 100 cabins have been burned in Pomeroy. That fire is about 40 percent contained and has burned about 42,000 acres. A new blaze in the northwestern part of the state is prompting evacuations there.
And a lot of times, you know, you blame arson. Or sometimes you can blame lightning strikes. And apparently that is to blame.
MYERS: The school fire lightning strike?
WHITFIELD: At least out there.
MYERS: It makes complete sense. A lot of times when you get up in the mountains -- and even if you've ever been to Colorado, you feel your skin cracking because there's just not as much humidity in the air at 8,000 feet as there is down here at the surface, or by sea level.
And so when a thunderstorm tries to rain into that dry air, the rain actually evaporates on the way down. It never makes it all the way. But lightning doesn't evaporate. It makes it all the way down there, and that's how can spark a fire, for sure.
No fires there today. No sparks today from lightning. That's all moved to the east, into Montana and Wyoming and Colorado. So maybe they get a break.
WHITFIELD: All right. That would be nice.
MYERS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
WHITFIELD: Well, now for some stories making news "Across America."
In Oklahoma, a man is accused of trying to take a bomb onto a plane. Twenty-four-year-old Charles Dreyling was arrested at the Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. An airport security employee is credited with spotting the device. The FBI won't say if the bomb was actually armed.
Take a look at this. Some dramatic pictures from the dashboard camera of a police car near Salt Lake City. Ouch.
Police had responded to a call. The woman was being kidnapped by two men. One of the suspects repeatedly rammed several police cars during his escape attempt.
But guess what? It didn't work. He was arrested. Police found a sawed-off shotgun in his vehicle.
One person was seriously injured in a wreck involving a daycare bus and a school bus. Orlando, Florida, police say the accident was caused by a drive who ran a red light. Three students in the school bus had minor injuries.
And still to come this morning, look at this big guy. Do you think hot butter, or do you think, just admire it from afar? We'll have an explainer on what that's all about.
You're watching DAYBREAK for Thursday, August 11.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MYERS: So our e-mail "Question of the Day" lighting up. They're going to make a -- or try to pass a law in Louisville today. Should there be a federal law banning smoking in public places, or is it your right to choose? Sometimes you don't have a choice. We'll see.
DAYBREAK@CNN.com. We're getting some great answers. We'll read a couple in a few minutes -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Chad.
And Jay Leno was on fire, as they say, last night.
MYERS: Of course.
WHITFIELD: With Congress and the president on vacation, there was plenty of good material for a late night laugh or two.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": What else happened? President Bush signed an energy bill in New Mexico this week. He had a simple, clear message for all Americans. He said the economy is moving. It's moving to China and Korea and Taiwan.
(LAUGHTER)
But it's moving. It's on the go.
(APPLAUSE)
The price of gasoline hit an all-time high this week. It's now officially $3 a gallon in California. Isn't that unbelievable? In fact, this afternoon I watched that new show, Pimp My Mountain Bike. Have you seen this?
(APPLAUSE)
Gas is so expensive in Beverly Hills, today I saw a gardener with a leaf blower just making the noise with his mouth.
In an interview on CNN, former President Bill Clinton says he wants to tackle obesity in young people. Tackling obesity in young people, isn't that what got him in trouble in the first place?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Boy, not touching that one, Jay. MYERS: No.
WHITFIELD: All right, Chad.
Well, time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Openers."
A feast fit for a king, maybe two kings on the hook, so to speak. He weighs 18 pounds.
MYERS: Wow! Look at the size of that claw.
WHITFIELD: Eighteen pounds. He weighs as much as my 6-month-old son. So how old do you think this guy is?
MYERS: He's probably between 75 and 100.
WHITFIELD: Wow!
MYERS: I remember -- I remember Bubba. They caught him off Nantucket a few years ago. He was 22, and they estimated him to be about 100 years old.
WHITFIELD: Wow! And so...
MYERS: So he's probably pushing 80.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. And look at it in dimension to the kids there. The claw alone is about a foot long.
MYERS: I would love to know what the power of that claw could be.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. And that's why they got a nice little band around it so it doesn't assault the other...
MYERS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: ... crustaceans in the case there.
MYERS: Exactly. Yes.
WHITFIELD: Well, apparently, they're not going to be, you know, putting it on anybody's plate or anything like that.
MYERS: No, no, no, no, no.
WHITFIELD: No. He is the star of the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, New Hampshire. I'm glad to hear that.
Well, a wayward sea lion is back where he's supposed to be, off the coast of California. The 200-pound mammal swam about six miles up a channel to the town of Irvine. Apparently, the record books say that that's the farthest any seal lion had ever made it in the past.
MYERS: He knew how to get off that boat pretty easy, didn't he?
WHITFIELD: He sure did. Happy to be back into the water.
MYERS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: And continuing our sea theme this morning, is this art or something else? If you can figure out what it is from those shots.
The siren is what they're calling it. Well, that kind of lets you know (INAUDIBLE). Well, it's lovingly shaped out of hand-pounded seal and bronze. It's a mermaid.
MYERS: It's a mermaid.
WHITFIELD: If you haven't figured it out by now.
MYERS: Right.
WHITFIELD: It's provoked some spirited debates throughout Florida.
MYERS: I've got nothing for that. Sorry.
WHITFIELD: OK.
MYERS: I'm not an art lover, I guess.
WHITFIELD: Oh, OK. Well -- and they love to keep showing that picture.
MYERS: It just keeps going on and on and on.
WHITFIELD: Well, what about the e-mail?
MYERS: Obviously the photographer had a great -- great time with that, right?
WHITFIELD: Yes. I think he thinks it's art -- or she.
MYERS: Our e-mail question -- or she, right.
Our e-mail "Question of the Day" lighting up. Should there be a federal law banning smoking in public? We're getting a couple of good answers here.
From Jay Dean (ph), "Everybody wants to blame smoking as the leading cause of lung cancer. People don't take into consideration there are other factors that cause this disease: chemicals, depleted uranium, agriculture pesticides, and certainly radon," if you want to get into all of that.
But from Mickey, he says, "Please stop smoking in public places nationally. Smoking has far greater effects that anyone knows, and it's just annoying to others."
We'll have more coming up in a little bit.
WHITFIELD: Look forward to that.
MYERS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Well, still to come in the next half-hour, President Bush signs a highway bill into law. Straight ahead, a fact check on what's written in the so-called small print. You'll be surprised by what we found.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Good morning. From the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Carol Costello this morning.
Coming up in the next 30 minutes, part of the Pentagon goes politically correct.
And a rolling stone gathers no moss, and neither do these guys. What's up with Mick and the gang still ahead.
But first, "Now in the News."
President Bush is meeting today with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at the ranch in Texas. Iraq is expected to be topping their agenda. Iraqi leaders are struggling to meet Monday's deadline for a new constitution.
Terror suspect Haroon Rashid Aswat will be in a British court in the next hour. It's a hearing to determine if he should be extradited to the United States. He was arrested in Zambia and just recently extradited to Britain to face terrorism charges there.
In about two hours, NASA will launch a spacecraft to Mars that will be able to gather more data on the planet than all previous Martian missions combined. The Mars reconnaissance orbiter is scheduled to spend four years circling the Red Planet -- Chad.
MYERS: And good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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