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CNN Live At Daybreak

Gaza Pullout; Second day of BTK Sentencing; Still Starving

Aired August 18, 2005 - 05:00   ET

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

KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: It is Thursday, August 18. Gaza a land of anguish and joy. This hour, the view from the other side of the Gaza fence. Palestinians prepare to return the soil claimed by their ancestors.
Also...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANNY OTERO, FAMILY KILLED BY BTK: And now -- now it's over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Not quite. Today we learn more about the Kansas killer who spent years stalking his neighbors.

And little lions in the grass? Giraffes striding the plains? Elephants too? Could this be the future of America's western states?

From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK. Good morning to you. Thanks so much for joining us today. I'm Kelly Wallace, in today for Carol Costello.

Also ahead, we revisit the famine in Niger. Is there a long-term solution to the hunger crisis?

And what if Baghdad was your hometown? A first-hand look at life in that city.

But first, these stories "Now in the News."

Israeli troops today entered Kfar Darom, a settlement -- a Jewish settlement in Gaza considered a pocket of resistance. About 2,000 people are believed to be resisting the settlement's closing as part of the Israeli pullout from the territory.

Going after meth. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and other administration officials announced new initiatives today to deal with methamphetamine use. The announcement will come at a drug court in Nashville, Tennessee.

And awaiting the Holy Father in Cologne, Germany. Pope Benedict XVI arrives today for the church's World Youth Day events. Hundreds of thousands of young people from more than 180 nations are in Cologne.

To the forecast center now and Chad Myers. Good morning, Chad. Great to see you.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Kelly. Good to see you here.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WALLACE: All right, Chad. We'll talk to you in a few minutes. Thanks so much.

MYERS: All right.

WALLACE: And to our top story this hour, the situation in the Middle east. While Jews are in anguish, Palestinians are rejoicing. The forced evacuations of Jewish settlements from Gaza are now in their second day. Waiting on the other side of the fence, the Palestinians.

Our Paula Hancocks is in Jerusalem. She's going to bring us the latest from both camps.

Paula, great to see you. I understand you had a chance to talk to the Palestinian prime minister. What is he saying about next steps in Gaza?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello, Kelly.

I did speak to him just a couple of hours ago, and he said he was pretty optimistic with what he was seeing at the moment. And also, we've had some news from a security source on the Israeli side saying they're optimistic as well.

Seventy percent of those settlers have been evacuated, according to this security source. They had a ministerial meeting, a committee meeting this morning, and Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, was in that meeting as well. And they also say that if things continue as they are the moment, if things are going as quickly as they are at the moment, they believe by Monday or Tuesday all the civilians could be evacuated from the Gaza Strip.

Now, of course it will take a couple more weeks to dismantle military equipment and to bulldoze those houses and to move the graves, for example, but they do believe that all civilians could be out by early next week. So a lot quicker than they were expecting, days not weeks.

The resistance has not been as strong as they were expecting. But this Thursday, the soldiers and the police are targeting two particular areas which could be potential -- it could have potential -- be potential trouble spots, as there are many infiltrators, non- residents, those more hard-line resisters, those more hard-line protesters.

Now, for example, in Neveh Dekalim, the largest settlement in Gaza, at the moment many are on the roof of the synagogue and they're refusing to move. There are police all around this particular area. But it is peaceful at the moment; it's just a bit of a standoff. There's negotiations ongoing.

And also, in another settlement, there are fires being started. Some of the settlers out there leaving are setting fire to their greenhouses. And we also here in Kfar Darom, which is another potential trouble spot, that they've evacuated a religious ceremony and there are hundreds in a synagogue there as well.

But back to the Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qorei, he said he was optimistic about the day after the so-called disengagement, as Ariel Sharon calls it. He says the plans are in place. They know exactly where they're going to build, they know exactly which parts of the land are going to be used for agriculture. But he did specify that they do need to think about the next step.

This step is wonderful, it's good that these settlements are being dismantled and the land is being given back to the Palestinians. But he wants to know exactly what's going to happen to the West Bank settlements.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AHMED QOREI, PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER: I cannot imagine that there will be an independent part of this country without the other part. I cannot give independent to my hand without the rest of my body. And therefore, Gaza is part of the Palestinian territory. And therefore, also, this step should be followed with other steps in the West Bank to see that all the settlements is being dismantled.

In the West Bank, very serious what I see. Very serious (INAUDIBLE) negotiations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: The prime minister did tell me that there were great celebrations planned for the day that they can move back into Gaza -- Kelly.

WALLACE: OK. Paula, we will check in with you in the next hour of DAYBREAK.

Paula Hancocks, bringing us the latest from Jerusalem. We appreciate it.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calls the Gaza pullout a dramatic moment in the history of the Middle East. But she tells "The New York Times" -- and we are quoting here -- "Everyone empathizes with what the Israelis are facing. It cannot be Gaza only." Secretary Rice says Israel needs to take more steps, including easing up on travel restrictions in the West Bank.

Today's second day of sentencing testimony will likely reveal more grisly details of the BTK killer's 31-year reign of terror in Wichita, Kansas. As CNN's Chris Lawrence reports, investigators yesterday detailed just how the serial killer picked his victims.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Dennis Rader shot, stabbed and strangled 10 people, including women and children. But detectives say BTK saw himself as anything but a cold-blooded killer.

DET. CLINT SNYDER, WICHITA POLICE: He said, "I did one of those John Wayne things." And he showed where he grabbed the gun in his waistband and then pointed, and he went "Pow." And he shot Kevin.

LAWRENCE: In another murder, he disguised himself as a detective, tricking a female victim into letting him in her home, where he killed her.

DET. DANA GOUGE, WICHITA POLICE: And he said he was pretty spiffy looking, that he was wearing dark slacks and a James Bond-style tweed coat.

LAWRENCE: Prosecutors described each of BTK's crimes, beginning with the murder of the Otero family in 1974.

KEVIN O'CONNOR, PROSECUTOR: And so Mrs. Otero was watching as Rader puts a bag over her little boy's head, and she yells, "You killed my boy! You killed my boy!"

Is that what Rader tells you she said?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it is.

LAWRENCE: Rader tied up and murdered the Oteros and two of their children, saving 11-year-old Josie for what he called his encore.

SPEC. AGENT RAY LUNDIN, KANSAS BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: And I remember how he kind of callously said, you know, "She was over there yelling, you know, 'Mama, mama, mama!' something like that." And...

O'CONNOR: And during the interview he actually mimicked a little girly yelling, "Mommy, mommy, mommy!" Is that correct?

LUNDIN: Yes, he did.

LAWRENCE: Josie's other siblings weren't home at the time. And on Wednesday, for the first time, they saw photographs showing how Rader killed their sister, hanging from a noose in the family's basement.

OTERO: They were in a lot of pain. They were terrified. And now -- now it's over.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: Such tough news for those families of those victims. That was CNN's Chris Lawrence reporting.

News "Across America" now.

The first Ohio governor to be charged with a crime is being arraigned this morning. Bob Taft is charged with four counts of violating ethics laws. Taft is accused of submitting false ethics reports, omitting golf trips and other favors.

Coretta Scott King is expected to remain in an Atlanta hospital another night. Friends of the widow of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. say she suffered a stroke. The family is not discussing the 78-year-old's illness. A Piedmont Hospital spokeswoman says King's vital signs are stable.

More trouble for the University of Connecticut basketball team. Point guard Marcus Williams has been charged with the theft of four laptop computers from a computer -- a student dorm. Registered freshman A.J. Price was charged with the same offense on Friday. Police say they expect to make another arrest. Williams and Price have been suspended from the team by Coach Jim Calhoun.

Well, the king of the jungle may be coming to a cornfield near you. That is right. That is if some scientists get their way and repopulate the great plains with large mammals, including some predators.

The plan would start with tortoises and wild asses. But then lions, elephants and antelopes would follow. They would all live together in large private parks in the Midwest and Southwest. Some of the scientists think it's important for the mammals to make a return trip to North America.

After all, they did live in the Great Plains until, Chad, just about 10,000 years ago?

MYERS: I'm pretty sure elephants didn't, though.

WALLACE: Right. I know. That's...

MYERS: But they -- they were supposed to be. And I think they really are the relatives of the wooly mammoth. Some are not.

WALLACE: They have relatives, distant cousins, roaming North America, yes.

MYERS: Yes. Right.

So what do you think?

WALLACE: I think this is just stunning. We were just talking about it earlier today. Think about it, from Africa, elephants and lions coming to a place near you? I don't know.

MYERS: It would be great for tourism. But, you know, the ecosystem really has to be really looked at, because we know what happened to the Great Lakes now. You have those little zebra mussels in there that came over on a cargo ship, and now you can see the bottom of the Great Lakes, the purest lakes in the world now. But that's bad, because now we're growing a lot a more grass and seaweed than we used to because the sun can get down there.

How does this change things? How will it do?

And what do you think? Lions, tigers, bears, oh my. Are they coming to America? Good idea or a bad idea?

Now, we're not talking about taking a big truck and dumping them out in the middle of the freeway somewhere and say, "Go, go, go." No. These are going to be penned-in places, large places, some as big as 155,000 acres, for these guys to be running around in.

Give us your ideas -- DAYBREAK@CNN.com -- Kelly.

WALLACE: Chad, I can't wait to hear what people have to say.

All right. Talk to you in a few minutes.

MYERS: OK.

WALLACE: Coming up next on this Thursday edition of DAYBREAK, the Xbox is ready for an upgrade. We'll tell you how much Santa will have to pony up for the latest in video game technology.

And Eminem says he's just too tired to go on. We'll tell you what's got him so worn out.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: The international markets are mixed this morning. Tokyo's Nikkei is up by 34 points. The London FTSE is down 20. And the German DAX is lower by 25.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's just about 15 minutes after the hour, and here's what's all new this morning.

Young people from around the world have been flocking to Germany to see Pope Benedict XVI. He's due to arrive in Cologne about 45 minutes from now for World Youth Day celebrations, and we will bring you his arrival live.

Toxicology results show Jessica Lunsford, the Florida girl who was raped and murdered in February, had breakdown products of cocaine in her body. Investigators have said the accused killer admitted to smoking crack cocaine during the three days he held the child captive.

In money, Las Vegas is getting a new landmark thanks to Ivana Trump. The Ivana Las Vegas will stand 80 stories high, with more than 940 condos overlooking the strip. The units, though, will cost between $500,000 and $35 million.

In culture, the new generation of Xbox will be pricier than any that came before it. Microsoft plans to sell the Xbox 360 system for $399. It's expected to go on sale just in time for Christmas.

In sports, Terrell Owens is back in camp for the Philadelphia Eagles after a week's suspension. Head coach Andy Reid had nothing but praise for Owens on his first day back at practice. But Owens still isn't talking to quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Chad, not putting you on the spot...

MYERS: Yes?

WALLACE: ... but do you know what this was all about? I don't.

MYERS: You know, I don't. But if they don't talk to each other, I'm pretty sure he's not getting any passes or anything -- you know, I mean -- you know...

WALLACE: It's a little bit of a problem, right?

MYERS: Yes, especially if Donovan...

WALLACE: QB not talking.

MYERS: ... decides not to talk to him.

WALLACE: Exactly.

MYERS: I mean, he knows enough to talk about. But somebody's got to talk.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WALLACE: Hey, Chad. Question for you. Have you heard of the moon jellyfish?

MYERS: I have now.

WALLACE: You have now.

MYERS: Yes.

WALLACE: To get prepared for DAYBREAK.

MYERS: I guess there are a -- there's a bunch of different species that we just never knew that that was the name. I didn't know that that was the name.

WALLACE: Right. But what's interesting about them, we're learning that there are about 16 different species of moon jellyfish living just about everywhere.

MYERS: Yes, 16 new ones at any given time. Yes. Yes.

WALLACE: Exactly. And we were looking around -- our colleagues, of course, always doing great work to get prepared for the show, and they were trying to do -- doing a Google search looking for a moon jellyfish. Well, they came across one thanks to some viewers who are big DAYBREAK fans.

Take a look at those. They may be cool looking, Chad, but they are a problem.

MYERS: They are.

WALLACE: They're invading ecosystems around the planet.

MYERS: You know, and this kind of goes the opposite way of what we were just talking about, bringing the animals over here. These are the same jellyfish that you see washed up on the Carolina beaches, all the way down to Florida. And that's fine; we're used to them. But some of the ecosystems, let's say, in Europe and Asia, were not used to these things, and they're getting invaded.

How? Because ships come into port, they bring in water into their ballast system, and a couple of these obviously got sucked into the ballast. And then when they go and do their trip across and overseas, they put that ballast water back out in a different port. And guess what? Those jellyfish were still alive, and now they're populating other places.

And other species may be in trouble because of these things getting all around the world.

WALLACE: And Chad, it's so interesting. It's, again, human beings clashing with other parts of nature.

MYERS: Yes.

WALLACE: They key -- the question, though, is what can you do? What do you do to prevent ships from carrying these moon jellyfish to other ecosystems around the world?

MYERS: Well, I mean, there are strainers and things like that, that they talk about. But think about how small the holes would have to be. Because if it isn't one thing, it will be another. It will be a small fish. It will be the snake fish or whatever it might be.

But thanks to Ann and Rob Simpson from Simpson's Nature Photography. They let us use this picture. What a great shot of that back-lit moon jellyfish.

WALLACE: Exactly. And Chad, Ann and Rob Simpson are very big DAYBREAK fans. They start their morning each and every day with you and Carol.

MYERS: Oh.

WALLACE: So just for that, we're thanking them and they're getting DAYBREAK coffee mugs in the mail.

MYERS: Well, all right. Thank you.

WALLACE: All right, Chad. Talk to you in a few minutes.

Still to come on this Tuesday edition of DAYBREAK, no one likes a litterbug, but fining a 4-year-old, is that going too far? That story still ahead. And remember our e-mail "Question of the Day." Lions, tigers and bears coming to America, is it a good idea or a bad one? E-mail us at DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

You're watching DAYBREAK for Thursday, August 18. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: And welcome back to DAYBREAK.

The famine in Niger exploded onto the international radar when horrific pictures of starving children splashed across television screens around the world. And then aid began pouring into the West African nation. As CNN's Jim Clancy reports, the outreach is helping, but the need is still enormous.

We warn you, you may find some of the video in this report very disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): "We are hungry. We don't have enough to eat," says one man, while a woman pleads, "Look, we have no food. Look at my stomach. I and my children have nothing to eat."

Emergency food assistance has been steadily arriving in the poverty-wracked state of Niger. But it has fallen short of what is needed. And in too many cases, come too late.

Still, widespread television coverage has helped create a sense of urgency.

ROSEMARY PARNELL, WFP LOGISTICS OFFICER: WFP is providing the food aid to the people. We're sending it to the poorest, we're sending it by air. We have trucks ready at the ports and at the airports to deliver to the warehouses.

CLANCY: As the feeding centers were hastily arranged and the hungry lined up for handouts, just watching the pictures gave most of us a false sense of accomplishment.

PETER BIELER, SWISS DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION: We can give assistance now, but what is happening next year? Are we going to have -- even if there's no peak, we're going to have malnutrition children again. No one will respond again. There is a longer-term commitment needed of the international community to tackle such a problem in the case of Niger.

CLANCY: It's not only Niger. Some complain that this crisis seemed to come from nowhere, that the U.N. failed to warn the world in time. But the fact is, the U.N. did issue warnings, just as it is warning that a similar crisis is developing in the southern African nation of Malawi, where even more people, some 4.4 million, are said to be at risk by the end of this year. What is a long-term solution? There's no single answer. But supplying not just food, but a source for food, is one of them.

In Niger today, the U.N. is distributing goats to families, goats that can supply milk for children and cheese to pay for school.

"I had two goats and now a baby goat. I'm able to put my children into school," says this woman. "I pray to God that all of the suffering we've endured will never happen again."

The program is relatively simple. A family can receive a goat with a pledge that when it produces offspring the first kid will go to another family. In Niger, Malawi, and other hard-hit nations, it is long-term solutions that must be put into action.

Eight hundred and fifty million people all around the world are hungry today. Most won't starve to death, but undernourished they are more susceptible to disease. Put in the starkest terms, one child dies every five seconds on planet Earth because they didn't get enough to eat.

Jim Clancy, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: Several aid agencies are in Niger, leading the battle against famine. But are they winning?

For answers, we turn to Jack Baker, CARE International's emergency coordinator for the Niger food crisis. He joins us live on the phone from Niger.

Mr. Baker, thanks so much for joining us. Give us a sense of what progress you all are making on the ground in Niger.

JACK BAKER, CARE EMERGENCY COORDINATOR: Well, the good news is that there's a lot of food now arriving. We -- CARE has distributing food for the past almost two months now, but we've been talking about -- well, in relation to what's here now, relatively small quantities. We're moving from just over a thousand tons and looking at distributing almost 15 times that within a matter of weeks.

So the food is coming. It's a question of how quickly it can come. Our teams are already trained, to some extent. And we've had to beef up. More agencies are on the ground.

I mean, that's the good news. There's a lot more resources in terms of food, in terms of people, and in terms of will, I think, and the will of the outside world to assist.

But I think everybody's aware that this is a big challenge to try and do this in such a short time when the problem has been going on so long. And also to look at the longer term, because, while the rains are regularly normal -- I mean, they're coming. They're coming, and the fields are green. It's a strange contrast, in a way, to see -- walk into a village, it almost looks normal until you look inside the houses, and especially into the nutrition centers, where, as you've seen on the pictures, these vivid pictures of clearly a population in trouble.

WALLACE: I wanted to ask you about the long-term situation as well, because you're saying that farmers are forced to eat the seed that they should be saving to plant for next year's harvest. So there has to be a great concern about steps that are being taken now that could prevent -- or that could cause even more long-term problems in Niger.

BAKER: Yes, that's right. I think it's not just the eating the seed, but it's also that a lot of these -- the seed, or the food that people are eating now is not their own. It's been borrowed from merchants, from food merchants.

So not only does this food go to feed them, but it also goes to pay back debt. And that has to be taken into account with any sort of assistance program. As we look forward to the recovery, if these people are starting with massive debt that they have to repay before they even start producing for themselves, that's going to be a bit more challenging than just starting at zero even.

WALLACE: What about, sir, the international response? Obviously, once this story starts getting reported on the worldwide stage, there is a great response. But as you know, continuing to get that attention, to continue to get that response, is a big challenge for you all.

BAKER: That's right. And I think this is not a new crisis, I think, for those of us who have been here for many years, even though the large-scale assistance programs have really just started now.

Agencies, like CARE, have been doing smaller-scale projects and we did some Food for Work way back in last fall after the locust invasion. And also, as I mentioned, some small-scale distributions with locally purchased food when prices became so high that poor people just could not afford the food.

But, as you say, the big challenge is to make sure that the way -- not only that there is resources for the longer term to address some of these structural problems. And you know the reason we're hopeful that we can exit from this is not just the resources, but the fact that the rain is irregular.

But, as we know, in this region that can't always be counted upon. And so for, you know, a country, such as Niger, to actually support itself in the longer-term needs some pretty fundamental changes. And that will need, not just resources, but fairly thoughtful approaches by the international community.

WALLACE: All right, Jock Baker, we wish you and your colleagues the best of luck. And we appreciate you joining us here on DAYBREAK, CARE's emergency coordinator.

Important information for you now, here's how you can help. You can send your donations to CARE International or the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, by calling the numbers on your screen.

DAYBREAK will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK. Good morning to you, I'm Kelly Wallace, in today for Carol Costello. Thanks for being with us.

Coming up in the next 30 minutes, is China more concerned about building its military than feeding its people?

And later, litter laws are serious in New Hampshire. We'll tell you what happened to a 4-year-old.

But first, these stories "Now in the News."

More than 38,000 documents relating to Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' work in the Reagan White House will be released today. The documents cover subjects such as abortion, school prayer and the war powers of the president.

Powerful Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff has an arraignment hearing today in a federal court in Los Angeles. Abramoff is an associate of several leading Republicans. He faces fraud charges in a Florida casino boat venture.

An independent task force monitoring NASA says some safety improvements were skipped as space officials rushed to meet deadlines for the shuttle Discovery's return to space. NASA is expected to respond to the critical report at a noon news conference.

Hundreds of thousands of young people are getting in position to see Pope Benedict XVI at World Youth Day celebrations in Cologne, Germany. He's due to arrive about 30 minutes from now, and we will bring you his arrival live.

To the Forecast Center now and Chad with word of another gorgeous day on the East Coast.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, for a lot of people.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WALLACE: Chad, thanks. I like that, in Dallas it's great if you have the air conditioning on.

MYERS: Yes, inside.

WALLACE: All right, Chad.

To our top story now this half-hour in Iraq. In hindsight, perhaps it is obvious. To some, the planning for post war Iraq has been insufficient. Newly declassified documents show that senior State Department officials warned military planners about what they called serious planning gaps for post war Iraq. The memo, dated a little more than a month before combat started, warned -- and we are quoting here -- "a failure to address short-term public security and humanitarian assistance concerns could result in serious human rights abuses." That memo went on to say that those abuses would undermine Washington's international reputation.

Iraqis, as you know, awake to carnage almost every day. The latest was yesterday when a wave of bombings hit Baghdad killing 43 people.

Our Aneesh Raman tells us the Iraqis are sick of the security problems and want the new government to do something now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On mornings like this, the politics of Iraq seem irrelevant. A trio of car bombs detonating within minutes of each other in central Baghdad, the first two at the Al-Nahda bus terminal, one of the busiest in the capital. The explosions killed dozens, wounded scores of others.

Moments later, another bomb, this one at the Al-Kindi Hospital, as casualties from the first explosion were being brought in. A coordinated attack and one of the biggest in Iraq in weeks. The pain unbearable, the anger understandable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We want our voices heard by the president and every official to tackle such violence. All those who were killed are innocent people. There were no Americans, nor Iraqi troops on the scene.

RAMAN: This is reality for Iraqi civilians. Waking some days to carnage. On most others, facing a continued lack in basic services. There is work being done, reconstruction taking place, but not nearly as quick as anyone here would like. And that is why the extension of the constitutional deadline is so frustrating for the average Iraqi.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They gave no convincing reason for the delay. They just said we are still in talks. There's no convincing reason compared to what's happening on the Iraqi streets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): What a pity, all this delay for nothing. This country is being destroyed daily by explosions with no security. No, we just want it to end.

RAMAN: Under intense scrutiny, Iraqi leaders say they are making progress towards a final compromise. Whether that is truly the case will be known in a matter of days.

(on camera): This is Iraq's ongoing duality, forging new political ground while facing sustained security needs. And in the middle, the Iraqi people, eager to put hope in the future, incapable of seeing beyond the difficulties of daily life.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: And American casualties in Iraq are still on the rise, 1,857 U.S. troops have been killed since the war started, 59 of them have been killed this month alone.

Time now for a CNN "Security Watch."

A militant Islamic prison gang may be behind a terrorist plot to attack Los Angeles area targets. Counterterrorism investigators say a group known as JIS is headed by a California State prison inmate. Officials say it is one of at least three Islamic groups operating in state prisons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RODERICK Q. HICKMAN, CDCR SECRETARY: We have and will continue to be very aggressive in our investigations and prosecution of any group that might threaten the safety and security of our country or this state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: A cell phone dropped at one of several gas station holdups led police to two men. A search of one suspect's home turned up -- quote -- "radical Islamic material and positive mentions of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden." Lawyers for both men deny any terror connections.

A Muslim cleric and his son have been returned to Pakistan. Muhammad Adil Khan and his 19-year-old son agreed to be deported after their arrest on visa violations during a federal terrorism investigation. Khan was imam of a mosque in Lodi, California.

And of course stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

To follow-up, now to the London terror bombings investigation, a case of mistaken identity in London. In leaked documents from an investigation, the shooting death of an innocent Brazilian man apparently was a bungled police operation. The police weren't after the man, but rather an Ethiopian man, an Ethiopian-born man named Osman Hussain. De Menezes was shot seven times in the head.

Still to come here on DAYBREAK, a look -- DAYBREAK, excuse me. We'll be right back.

First, a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: And welcome back.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's just about 45 -- 44 minutes after the hour, and here is what is all new this morning. Israeli soldiers carrying riot gear enter the Jewish Gaza settlement of Kfar Darom today. About 2,000 people remain in a synagogue there. Despite resistance, Israeli officials say the pullout from Gaza is going very well.

A tragedy off Colombia, only nine people have been pulled from the waters off Colombia following the sinking of a fishing boat carrying 113 people from Ecuador. An Ecuadorian port official says the boat was overloaded.

In money, Morgan Stanley is keeping its Discover credit card unit despite shareholder pressure to sell. But the investment bank says it is getting out of the aircraft leasing business it entered five years ago.

In culture, Los Angeles says no to the family of rapper B.I.G. The family sought $18 million to end a lawsuit accusing two ex-police officers of conspiring to kill the rapper in 1997.

In sports, get ready NASCAR, here comes former pro quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach. They're joining with businessman Bill Saunders to compete in NASCAR's Nextel Cup Series next year.

But, Chad,...

MYERS: Yes.

WALLACE: ... they'll be competing as owners, not drivers.

MYERS: Right. Right, right, yes, they're a little old to be drivers, considering the oldest driver is now in the 40s and they're all going to be done this year, I think. Joe Gibbs, Coach Gibbs of the Washington Redskins, are going to provide engines, personnel, drivers and crew for that team. They've already got Texas Instruments onboard as a sponsor. So good for them, always good to have another good team.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WALLACE: All right, Chad, talk to you in a few minutes. Thanks so much.

MYERS: You bet.

WALLACE: Turning to China now. China and Russia holding their first-ever joint military exercises, displaying their rising military might. The war games involve 10,000 troops, and they're meant to send a clear message to the United States.

Stan Grant has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The ghosts of China's military past. The faces of old leaders gaze down on weapons of the Cold War. This museum outside Beijing, a graveyard of old guns, planes and missiles.

Among the relics, a man and his memories, Zhao Bang flew a transport plane in World War II. Surprised to find the very same plane right here, but this is the past. Today, he's concerned that China is putting guns before food.

ZHAO BANG, FORMER WORLD WAR II PILOT: Most of the Chinese people love to eat and to live a good life is more important than anything. Ideology.

GRANT: Yet China's growing economic strength is building military muscle. China's defense spending up 13 percent, now $30 billion U.S. dollars. The Pentagon claims the real figure more than double that, $65 billion.

The aim, to breathe fire into the dragon. In the words of China's Premier Wen Jiabao, insuring the army is capable of winning any war it fights.

Already the biggest army in the world, China is building weapons to fight in space, or on the sea. A growing fleet of nuclear and diesel submarines, more than two-and-a-half thousand combat aircraft, boosts in communication and command systems, smarter missiles. The Pentagon reporting more than 700 short-range missiles pointing at Taiwan, China's biggest flash point.

Now China testing its strength alongside old foes Russia: the first-ever joint exercises involving up to 10,000 troops.

JIN CAN RONG, MILITARY ANALYST: And China want to lend something in military fierce from Russian side because, according to international standards, China is the large, the main body of pier a (ph) is still left behind of an international standard.

GRANT (on camera): This is a Soviet MIG jet fighter from the Cold War era. It's still the case today that China is one of Russia's best customers when it comes to military hardware. One of the reasons for having the joint exercises is a chance for China to go shopping once again.

(voice-over): China has been buying weapon-carrying ships and submarines and adding to its air power with new Russian fighter bombers. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld already has raised concerns about China's rush to arms. But some Chinese analysts say the U.S. is wrong to see a threat.

RONG: China is a country now run by technocrats, not a country run by revolutionary generation.

GRANT: The leaders and the weapons of the Cold War may be museum pieces, but some fear a new arms race is only just beginning.

Stan Grant, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: And welcome back.

Police in Hooksett, New Hampshire are serious about enforcing local litter laws. So much so that they're willing to take the case of a bouncing ball and a 4-year-old, that's right, to court.

Mark Ericson and Danielle Carrier are with the WOKQ Morning Waking Crew in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. They join us with more on this story that has to have a lot of people up in arms.

Mark, Danielle, thanks for being with us. A $288 littering citation after a 4-year-old tossed a ball, a toy and maybe a wrapper. People must be outraged.

DANIELLE CARRIER, WOKQ MORNING WAKING CREW, PORTSMOUTH & MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: Believe it or not, it is actually split right down the middle. Some people are like outraged that he could have given them a warning, he could have gone easier. And some people going you know the law is the law. So it's very, very much divided.

WALLACE: But the law is the law, Mark, a 4-year-old girl. It seems a little extraordinary, no?

MARK ERICSON, WOKQ MORNING WAKING CREW, PORTSMOUTH & MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: Well, Kelly, the thing you need to consider here is the officer witnessed what he says are a number of things coming out of the rear window of this moving vehicle on a fairly busy road. And, as such, he could have issued a warning, but he feels that because of the amount of things he saw coming out of the window, it had to be the actual ticket.

Now the officer doesn't have a say in the price of the ticket. The fines in the state are already set. Littering on that road, at that speed, when you put it all together into the legal system, the fine comes out to $288. So the officer is caught between either a warning with no fine or the state-determined fine which is 288 bucks.

And some people feel that that fine might be a little steep. But on the other hand, a number of people are feeling that there were two parents in the car, one of them could have been keeping an eye on what was going on in the backseat.

WALLACE: Danielle, how much attention is this getting up there?

CARRIER: It's getting a lot of attention. It's focusing a lot on why aren't parents paying attention to their children in the backseat. We've had numerous phone calls from parents who have multiple children, upwards of five and seven children all in the car, and they're like none of my kids have done this. And on the other hand, you have parents who call up and say, you know what, I do the best that I can and sometimes accidents happen.

WALLACE: And, Mark, very quickly, what happens next, will this go to court? ERICSON: The parents say that they are indeed going to fight this. And as such, the Hooksett Police Department is saying if it's going to trial, then they can't comment on the situation, so please don't call the Hooksett Police Department. But the parents say they're going to fight the ticket.

WALLACE: All right, Mark Ericson and Danielle Carrier with the WOKQ Morning Waking Crew in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, we'll be following this story and staying in touch with you. Thanks for being with us.

And time now to check in with Chad.

Chad, I understand a lot of e-mail coming in.

MYERS: We do. Our "Question of the Day" was about this plan to bring, or at least the potential plan, to bring elephants and cheetahs and lions, not just tigers and bears, because we already have bears. But anyway, coming to America on large farms or ranches, if you will, to try to preserve the species, because they're not doing such a great job over there.

Maybe we could make some money with some tourism dollars, send it back to Africa so that they could help save some of the other animals that they all have that they're having trouble with. Because you know the area that they have, those animals getting smaller and smaller and smaller and the American west is still pretty wild. But we're not talking about dumping them off. They're not talking about dumping off on the freeway exit. Behind big bars and all kinds of stuff and behind big fences.

But, Dan (ph) in Florida says, as much as I love and respect animals of all flavors, I'm astounded that anyone could consider bringing a large number of non-native animals to reside here. We're already having so much trouble in Florida with these foreign animals establishing themselves in the wild, sometimes with very damaging and scary consequences. Bad for them, bad for us, I vote no on African animals in America.

And Andrew (ph) in Laredo says, what a folly to think that wild beasts could be kept in enclosed spaces. What kind of fence do you think is going to keep an elephant contained? Farmers and ranchers complained about the reintroduction of wolves into the wild. Imagine the roar that they would say if lions and tigers were on the prowl on their farm.

And then from Monica (ph) in Spring Valley, Illinois, bad idea. It's like giving a loaded gun, laying it around, sooner or later it's going to go off. What happens when something breaks out?

And a couple of more positive ones that we're going to get to right after the break.

WALLACE: All right, and we look forward to hearing from all those folks in the next hour.

MYERS: OK.

WALLACE: Thanks, Chad.

And a story we've been following throughout the morning on DAYBREAK, Pope Benedict XVI arriving in Cologne, Germany for the 20th Annual World Youth Day celebrations. We understand the pope has arrived in Cologne.

More than 400,000 people from all over the world are already gathered there. Crowds estimated to go up to even a million when the pope delivers a mass on Sunday. It will be his first trip as pope. And he is visiting, of course, his native homeland, Germany. We will give you more after the break. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: It is Thursday, August 18.

Did war planners ignore warnings that the going would be tough in Iraq? A newly released memo from the State Department suggests a disconnect between war planners and policymakers.

Another Marine laid to rest. His parents share the voice of the fallen in a moving tribute.

And the trail of terror, fantasy and clues, victims of the BTK serial killer hear more gruesome details in Kansas.

From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK. I'm Kelly Wallace in today for Carol Costello.

Good morning, everyone. Thanks so much for waking up with us.

Chad Myers will have your forecast in just a moment.

Also ahead, vacationing at the height of hurricane season, what you need to know to protect your travel plans.

And great animals roaming the Great Plains of America. Here about the idea to move lions and elephants out of Africa and bring them here.

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