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American Morning

Man Shoots Six in Shopping Mall; Reports of Zarqawi's Death Investigated; World's Largest Aquarium Opens in Georgia

Aired November 21, 2005 - 08:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Rick Sanchez is filling in for Miles. So thank you for helping us out. Miles, as he bragged all last week, unbearably, really, has gone.

RICK SANCHEZ, CO-HOST: Yes, yes. He's going south.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: That's nice.

O'BRIEN: Nice to have you. Thank you for helping.

SANCHEZ: It's always nice to be around you.

O'BRIEN: More, more!

Did you see this cover -- this cover of "The Daily News" today? It's on the front, actually, of a lot of tabloids. It says most "No Way Out." We're focusing here on a picture of the president. And he's sort of making this face as he pulls on the door to try to get out of this press conference.

Let's roll some videotape if we can. You can see it right here. He's just shot down a reporter who's asked a follow-up question. Now, look, he can't get out. He doesn't quite know what to do. Finally, his aide -- he makes a joke saying, "I was trying to escape; it didn't work." And his aide sort of ushers him over to the actual exit out of the building.

Many people, say as much as he was joking and was in sort of jovial spirits as that happened, it has signaled just how awkward and uncomfortable a lot of this Asia trip has been for the president.

SANCHEZ: You know, it's interesting. There's part of the story where one of the reporters says, "Mr. President, you're obviously bothered."

He says, "Have you ever heard of jet lag?" Bush responds. "Well, good, that answers your question."

So he's kind of -- you can see he was just having a tough day.

O'BRIEN: Wasn't necessarily the smoothest of exits, let's say.

Also this morning, we're following this story out of Tacoma, Washington. And learning more about the man who is now accused of shooting six people at that shopping mall.

Kareen Wynter is live for us in Tacoma.

Kareen, good morning. What do we know about the suspect?

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

Well, according to some local newspaper reports that we've been seeing, Dominick Maldonado worked at a local Subway shop here in town up until about four months ago. Some co-workers called him as quiet, twitchy, very, very unstable.

We've also heard from others who knew him quite well, that he was responsible, that he held a job, and that this was the last thing that they expected.

Now, yesterday, around Sunday afternoon, this accused gunman reportedly went into the Tacoma Mall behind me and according to witnesses there, employees, as well as shoppers, just started shooting randomly, walking and shooting. In the end, Soledad, about six people were injured, one taken to a nearby hospital. At last check, he was still in critical condition.

Some people tried running for cover. Others said that it seemed as if they were in the middle of a movie. This was the last place that they expected to see something like this occurring.

Now, right before the attack, Maldonado's ex-girlfriend, Tiffany Robison, said that she received a text message from him saying in part today is the day the world would learn about his anger. She said she got a call from him saying that he couldn't take it anymore and also apologized for being rude to her in the past.

Now, here's more on what she said. As soon as she heard the shooting, she knew that it was Dominick behind it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIFFANY ROBISON, DOMINICK MALDONADO'S EX-GIRLFRIEND: Dominick had called me, not even two seconds after being on the phone with my friend, and said that he was -- he had just shot up the Tacoma Mall, and he was holding people hostage in Sam Goody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WYNTER: Maldonado is expected to appear in court sometime this afternoon -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: He's a guy also, Kareen, who had a pretty long criminal record, didn't he?

WYNTER: According to "The Seattle Times," quite an extensive one dating back to 1998. This was a criminal record as a juvenile, with convictions involving a burglary. Burglaries, rather, and theft -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Kareen Wynter for us this morning with an update on this shooting. Kareen, thanks a lot -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: This could be a huge development out of Iraq. We say development, because that's where it is right now. The U.S. military is really trying to figure out if Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most wanted man in Iraq, is dead or alive.

Joining us from the Pentagon is our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, who's been looking into this.

What are you hearing there, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, Rick.

At this point, an increasing number of U.S. and Iraqi officials are saying they do not believe it was Zarqawi killed in a shootout on Saturday in Mosul with the U.S. and Iraqi security forces.

But, still, there's some tantalizing tidbits of investigation underway at this point. In fact, a U.S. official tells CNN, indeed, yes, they are testing DNA and a fingerprint from one of the seven corpses found in this house in Mosul.

It all began on Saturday when there was a raid on a house where they believe that there were insurgents, possibly tied to Zarqawi and al Qaeda in Iraq. There was a shootout. Two U.S. soldiers were killed. And then somehow, the house blew up. The belief is the insurgents inside detonated some explosives and blew the house up.

All of this leading to speculation, and it was speculation at the time and still is, that Zarqawi might have been inside, that he might have blown himself up, rather than be taken alive by security forces.

So testing is underway. But at this point, a number of spokesmen from the White House to the U.S. Military to Iraqi security forces are saying they do not believe it was Zarqawi in the end, but the testing goes on, Rick.

SANCHEZ: How do they usually handle something like this? I mean, you've got to be careful, I imagine, Barbara, right? Because you don't want to play the expectation game, make people think it's happened only to find out later that it didn't. Right?

STARR: It has gone that way any number of times. Remember, there have been endless reports, for example, similar reports about Osama bin Laden over the years. DNA testing, reports he's dead, looking into it, all kinds of forensic investigations. It's what happens with these so-called high value targets.

But U.S. officials are extraordinarily cautious until they have some sort of DNA confirmation or a body, dead or alive. They are not saying anything about this, other than at this point, they don't believe it was Zarqawi. Still, the testing goes on.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and that seems to be the smart way to play it at this point. Barbara Starr from the Pentagon, as usual, thanks for that diligent report.

And let's bring in Kelly Wallace know, who knows a little bit about how the White House plays things like this.

SANCHEZ: Just a little bit, right? From a few years there.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Hello, Rick and Soledad, and good morning, everyone.

And we're beginning with the White House, in particular, President Bush, who is wrapping up his eight-day Asia tour today with a history-making stop in Mongolia. He is the first sitting U.S. president ever to visit that country. The president's trip also included stops in Japan, South Korea, and China. In Mongolia, Mr. Bush thanked leaders for helping the war on terror. Right now, Mongolia has 131 troops stationed in Iraq.

Vice President Cheney defending the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq. Cheney is set to deliver a speech this morning in Washington, responding to critics who are calling for a speedy withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. CNN will have live coverage of the vice president's speech, which is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Eastern Time.

America's most dangerous city is being ranked by a company that tracks crime statistics. At top for the second year in a row, Camden, New Jersey. Detroit, Michigan, takes the No. 2 spot, and St. Louis, Missouri, is No. 3. So you ask, the safest cities? Well, Newton, Massachusetts, is No. 1, followed by Clarkstown, New York, and Amherst, New York, at the No. 3 spot.

And probably a safe bet for a fun time this weekend, movie goers getting wild about Harry. The debut of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" -- get this -- took in more than $100 million over the weekend. That out grosses any earlier film about the young wizard and friends. And it's the fourth best opening weekend in movie history, behind "Spider-Man," "Star Wars: Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith," and "Shrek 2."

I think some critics are going to be surprised. Because they were saying this one is little darker than the others. So there was a question if fans were going to flock to the theaters to see it.

O'BRIEN: Yes. People were saying if you've got little kids, don't bring them. Very clearly, do not bring them.

SANCHEZ: Why.

O'BRIEN: Because it's -- you know, it's really for older kids now.

WALLACE: But clearly, a lot of people went. SANCHEZ: Unless you want them sleeping in your bed at night, which is not good.

O'BRIEN: For two weeks. Also not good.

WALLACE: Also not good.

O'BRIEN: Kelly, thanks.

WALLACE: Sure.

O'BRIEN: Let's take a look at the weather. It's eight minutes past the hour. Jacqui has an update for us.

Hey, Jacqui. Good morning again.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Jacqui, for the update. We appreciate it.

SANCHEZ: Coming up, a chilling murder that's really stunned a community, and it's also puzzling the police there. A teenage father recognized nationally for his devotion for his daughter suddenly gunned down.

O'BRIEN: We'll look into that this morning. Also that report of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death. If he is dead, how could it impact the insurgency? We're going to take a look at that ahead.

SANCHEZ: Also, thousands of hurricane victims are supposed to move out of hotels by next month, but will they get a reprieve from FEMA and be allowed to stay there a little bit longer? Some want it. We're going to take a closer look at this right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi alive or dead? A raid over the weekend in northern Iraq in the city of Mosul ended in the denial of eight terrorists. Was the terror mastermind among them? Sajjan Gohel is a terrorism expert. He's also the director of international security at the Asia Pacific Foundation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Good morning. Any reason to suspect, in fact, that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi among these terrorists in Mosul?

SAJJAN GOHEL, DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY, ASIA PACIFIC FOUNDATION: Well, let's separate what we know with what is suspicion.

U.S. forces were given a tip off that an al Qaeda in Iraq cell was hiding in a house in Mosul. A shootout ensued in which the insurgents inside the building blew themselves up. Now, DNA testing has been waiting. What is interesting is the Alaf (ph) Arabic web site, which is very popular amongst Islamists, has put up a statement claiming that al-Zarqawi was killed in that raid.

Now, earlier in the year in May, the same web site also claimed that he had been killed in another shootout, so we have to take this very carefully. This web site is known for making all kinds of assertions. And we'd only get real confirmation until U.S. forces actually tell us.

O'BRIEN: But how likely do you think it is? The White House says it's unlikely. Do you agree with that?

GOHEL: Well, we've known for a long time that Abu Musab al- Zarqawi is very well protected in Iraq. He has people that are very loyal to him that would do everything they could possibly do there to prevent U.S. forces from being able to capture him.

And it's a fact that there have been many close calls. In February of this year, there was a chance that the coalition was closing in on him. He managed to escape. People that were protecting him instead managed to lead the forces chasing him astray.

It is -- the net is closing on him. A lot of his lieutenants have been captured. It is only a question of time before al-Zarqawi is captured by Iraq...

O'BRIEN: I'm curious. Let me follow up on that thought. If he is killed or if he is captured, what do you think is the immediate impact of that?

GOHEL: It would be very significant, because al-Zarqawi brought in a dangerous new dimension to violence in Iraq. He visualized it. We saw the brutal beheadings of people that had been abducted by his group: Nicolas Berg, Ken Bigley.

We saw the fact that his group was behind the most spectacular trustees, the attack on the U.N. building, Italian troops in Nasiriyah.

We see that his outfit filmed these attacks. They put them out on the Internet to try and gain new recruits. He is an important individual, but he is one person in charge of one group. And there are several dozens in Iraq. So it would lead to some problems for the insurgency, but it wouldn't finish it off.

O'BRIEN: And hasn't he lost a lot of ground in the wake of the attacks in Jordan? Even his own family has turned against him and denounced him. Do you think that will speed up his capture are or the fact someone might eventually turn him in and he's eventually killed?

GOHEL: One of the biggest mistakes al-Zarqawi has made was to be behind the terrorist attacks in Jordan, where most people that were actually killed happened to be Sunni Muslims.

And his family have disowned him, as you said. They've taken full-page adverts on newspapers condemning him. He's now lost a lot of support in countries which were sympathetic to him in the past. He has now isolated himself from the community he was hoping to obtain new insurgents.

And that is going to be his biggest mistake and, hopefully, one that could provide useful intelligence to where he's hiding. In the past, people would not inform on him because there was a sense of respect, unlike, say, Saddam Hussein, when people feared him; they didn't respect him. Now he's lost the respect, as well, and hopefully soon the coalition will obtain proper intelligence as to where he's hiding and bring him to justice.

O'BRIEN: Sajjan Gohel of the Asia Pacific Foundation, joining us this morning. Sajjan, always nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: We are calling this our week of giving, trying to highlight stories of people affected by this year's harsh, to say the very least, hurricane season.

Here, in fact, is one story.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

KIMBERLY POSIN, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: Hi, my name is Kimberly Posin. I'm from New Orleans but live in Los Angeles currently. My family evacuated from New Orleans to Memphis, Tennessee, when Hurricane Katrina hit. When I think about being thankful, one thing specifically comes to my mind. My family decided to visit Graceland to get away from the monotony of sitting in our hotel. When we got to there, people were nice enough to let us in for free, since we were from New Orleans. It really brightened our day."

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And we want to hear your stories. If you've got a story to tell, e-mail us at CNN.com/AM. We will post some of your responses on the web site, and maybe we'll ask you to share your story right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

We'll be back in just a little bit. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We welcome you back.

You know that there's a feeding frenzy, well, so to speak, in Atlanta, as the Georgia Aquarium, said to be the world's largest, opens its doors to the public Wednesday.

Fredricka Whitfield has more on the big fish in one really big pond.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Making a huge splash in their Atlanta debut, marine life from around the world, a dream four years in the making.

BERNIE MARCUS, HOME DEPOT CO-FOUNDER: I've got to have this.

WHITFIELD: The brain child and primary financial backer, Bernie Marcus.

MARCUS: I wanted to do something.

WHITFIELD: At 76, the cofounder of the Georgia-based home improvement chain Home Depot said it's not just something he wanted to do but had to do.

MARCUS: I owed something. I look at what I have today, and I would never have had it without these people that did it for me.

WHITFIELD: He made millions selling hammers and saws at his Home Depot stores.

MARCUS: Stock was going up.

WHITFIELD: And because Marcus doesn't do anything on a small scale, he figured this time, why not small and really big scales! With more than $200 million of his own money, he helped bring hammerheads and saw fish to the mother of all fish tanks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gracie, up.

WHITFIELD: Among the creatures warming up to their new state-of- the-art home, five beluga whales, two of them rescued from a noisy amusement park in Mexico City.

Also a pair of Taiwanese whale sharks, now 18 feet long, but they could grow to more than 50 feet.

None of this came easily. The whale sharks had to be transported from Taiwan in special life support tanks on board a UPS 747. And Marcus himself made waves by arguing that Atlanta's downtown business district and the expected tourist draw to his aquarium would be hurt by existing panhandling. He wanted the city to ban it. Three months before opening day, Marcus got his way, despite public outrage.

And, now, with the major hurdles behind him, this week is show time.

MARCUS: It's not like a regular aquarium. We took it three steps further. It's theater. The lighting, the music, the ambiance is so different than any aquarium we've been in.

WHITFIELD: The star attraction, a six million gallon tank the size of a football field, 30 feet deep.

MARCUS: I was brought up this way. My mother brought me up to share with people. WHITFIELD: Bernie Marcus, a billionaire businessman accustomed to big returns, is hoping this latest venture yields great reviews.

MARCUS: But they all say one word, "Wow." And that's what I want to hear. And that will be the payback, as far as I'm concerned.

Fredricka Whitfield, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: There's a caveat to this story. If one of these prized possessions gets sick or needs some emergency care, there's a fully- staffed E.R. to handle it. With help from the University of Georgia, the aquarium is also the largest veterinary teaching project of its type.

And the man who made it all happen, Bernie Marcus, will be our guest Wednesday right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

O'BRIEN: Well, Bernie Marcus, I think we can say wow, that's amazing. What a beautiful aquarium, the one that's the size of a football field.

SANCHEZ: You've given him his "wow."

O'BRIEN: Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: He was looking for one.

O'BRIEN: I'm sure I'm not the only one.

SANCHEZ: Can I get a "wow-wow"?

O'BRIEN: Absolutely. Me and everybody says, "Wow."

Ahead this morning, we're talking to Daniel Sieberg. He is our technology correspondent. He's got the very latest on the new Xbox 360.

Hey, Daniel.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Another "wow" factor here. If you're a gamer, you might be dying to take this thing out for a spin, the new Xbox 360. But if you're a parent, though, you might be wondering where this fits into your home entertainment center and within your budget. In the next half hour, we'll be talking about all those things and even playing some games, as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Get the latest news every morning in your e-mail. Sign up for "AMERICAN MORNING Quick News" at CNN.com/AM.

Coming up, in just over a week, FEMA is set to evict tens of thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims from hotels and motels all around the country. So where are they going to go? How are they going to pay for it? We talk to the former mayor from New Orleans, Mark Morial, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Half past the hour.

The situation for the folks in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, who faces a deadline of December 1, where that's it. They're going to be kicked out of their hotels and motels around the country, with some exceptions. Trailers aren't in place yet. A lot of cases, they have nowhere to go.

WALLACE: I know. But it's interesting. You're seeing some other states like New York and Texas coming through for these people, saying, "You know what? We're not going to throw you out on the streets. We're going to do something. If the federal government's not going to do it, we'll do it."

SANCHEZ: It's so expensive, though, what they're trying to do, is keep them in hotels. You think there'd be a better way, where it would be a little less expensive, a little less of a burden on the taxpayer. Right?

O'BRIEN: Certainly been a refrain we've heard a lot in Hurricane Katrina, "a better way." Talk more about that in just a moment. First, though, let's get an update on the other stories making news.

WALLACE: Hello, Soledad.

And good morning, everyone.

We're beginning with this, an ominous message coming from the suspect in a shooting spree at a Tacoma, Washington, shopping mall. Police say 20-year-old Dominick Maldonado sent a text message to his ex-girlfriend just about 20 minutes before he opened fire on Sunday. And part of that message said, quote, "Today is the day that the world will know my anger."

Shoppers ran out of the mall when the shooting began. Maldonado is accused of wounding six people, one critically, and taking three hostages before giving himself up.

Another deadly attack in Iraq to tell you about. At least five people were killed, 11 others wounded in a car bomb attack near a busy market today. The attack taking place about 22 miles east of Baqubah. A U.S. official said a military convoy might have been the intended target, but the convoy passed by shortly before that bomb went off.

A snowboarder survives three days by building a snow fort after getting lost in the Colorado mountains. Thirty-one-year-old John Ryan says he froze like crazy and did, quote, a lot of praying during his ordeal. Ryan got lost Wednesday near a ski resort 60 miles west of Denver. He was rescued on Saturday. Ryan is now out of the hospital, but still getting treatment for frostbite.

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