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American Morning

Saddam Hussein Trial Delayed; Brazen Jailbreak in Washington; Holiday Travel Mess

Aired November 28, 2005 - 8:59   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Miles O'Brien.
A developing story in Iraq. Massive complaining, forcing the trial of Saddam Hussein and seven others to be delayed yet again. We'll have a live update from Baghdad very shortly.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Soledad O'Brien.

Illegal immigration is on the president's agenda today. We're going to take a closer look at the more controversial aspects of his border security plan.

M. O'BRIEN: And severe weather such as this has people on the edge in Arkansas and Kansas. But it's not just high winds we're watching. Farther west, snow is slowing down holiday travelers. We'll tell you just how bad it will get on this AMERICAN MORNING.

S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.

We have been on the air since 6:00 Eastern Time. A reminder to you. If you're not joining us that early, you're missing out on the first hour of AMERICAN MORNING.

M. O'BRIEN: So, reset your alarm, change your TiVo, do what you have to do.

S. O'BRIEN: Change your life to join us first thing in the morning.

M. O'BRIEN: Just, please, please be with us bright and early.

S. O'BRIEN: We've been talking about the Saddam Hussein trial. On hold once again, the judge put the proceedings off for another week because some of the defendants want new lawyers.

Let's go right to Aneesh Raman. He is live for us in Baghdad this morning.

Aneesh, good morning. So what's the reaction now to this delay yet again?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, good morning.

Iraq's government already voicing frustration at what took place today, a one week adjournment of this trial of Saddam Hussein. An adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari in the courtroom said the government was hoping at least 12 witnesses would come to the stand today and every day this week, at least until Thursday. Not happy at all that we've seen this further delay.

Now, why did the court adjourn? As all our viewers are aware, in the six-week period between October 19, the first trial session, and today, two defense lawyers were assassinated. Their clients today said they want to retain new counsel, and the judge has given them one week to personally do that. If they return on Monday without new counsel, they will have court-appointed defense lawyers.

So again, we now wait until next Monday. We heard in the morning the first testimony, a witness on tape starting to detail crimes against these eight defendants. And then there was about an hour and a half recess during which Saddam and the seven other co-defendants met with their lawyers, and they came back in almost a legal rebellion in the afternoon session, demanding that they have time to find new lawyers, saying that the security situation overall was not tenable for this trial to go on.

One defense attorney saying they need at least 40 days. Instead, they have one week now -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well Aneesh, what do your average Iraqis think about all of these delays?

RAMAN: Well, the average Iraqi is much less concerned with the legal process by which Saddam is tried and much more concerned with it simply ending. On the streets of Dujail, north of the capital where this first stems from, residents were out on the street demanding Saddam's execution. They did so throughout the country back on October 19.

So Iraqis that were watching it -- and we've spoken to them out on the streets today -- are worried that further delays in this trial could not only see a rise in the violence, but underline some notions that remain out there, Soledad, that Saddam Hussein could come back to power -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: It's hard to believe that, but I guess you're right. Aneesh Raman for us in Baghdad this morning.

Aneesh, thanks -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Now to a brazen jailbreak in Yakima, Washington. Police were catching seven escapees over the weekend, including a murder suspect. Still on the hunt now for two others.

Let's go to Washington State, a report from our affiliate KNDO. Yakima about 150 miles from Seattle. Anthony Gomes outside the jail there.

Anthony, what leads do the police have this morning?

ANTHONY GOMES, REPORTER, KNDO: Well, Miles, they've been getting a lot of leads from the public here in the Yakima area. They've caught seven people so far, two more to go. Those two individuals still on the loose this morning are 28- year-old Luis Soto. He's facing charges of residential burglary. And police think they're starting to narrow the search for him to his hometown of Tapinash (ph), Washington. That's about 15 miles south of Yakima.

They think that because of tips from the public they've been able to find where he spent Friday night and where he spent Saturday night, two different locations. He seems to be moving. But police think that because of tips from the public they're very close to catching him.

The other man still on the loose this morning, 26-year-old Gianno Alaimo. Gianno Alaimo. Police believe that these two men are not traveling together. Alaimo, in fact, has been spotted as far away as Seattle.

The police here say that they are very appreciative of all of the different tips that they've been getting from the public, and asking anyone with any information on where these two men might be to call them immediately at 911 -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Anthony, the basics of this sound like something you'd see in a Hollywood treatment or something, you know? Cutting holes, bed sheets, all that. Why don't you explain to folks how they got out.

GOMES: Yes, it's pretty amazing stuff.

Apparently, just after 5:00 -- this is right after dinnertime -- guards were just doing a routine search and found a hole punched in the ceiling of one of the cells. Nine people apparently -- there were 24 inmates that were staying on this fourth floor of the county jail behind me. Nine inmates apparently broke a hole in the ceiling of one of the cells, jumped up through the hole into some duct work, found their way to the roof, where they tied bed sheets together.

And that's where a closed-circuit camera saw these moving people up on the roof. And five people were actually caught there, four up top of the roof, one just down at the bottom of the bed sheets. But four others caught away.

Now, two were caught the next day at the sister of one of these escapee's house. They were caught hiding up in the ceiling, but the two others that we showed you earlier are still on the loose this morning -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Anthony, I've got to ask you a question. Are you there all by yourself without a crew? I just heard that in my ear. Is that true?

GOMES: That is -- that is true. It's early in Yakima, and it's a one-man band.

M. O'BRIEN: You set up the satellite truck, the camera, and there you are. You truly are Al Franken. GOMES: I feed it back to the station, and they send it to New York and out to the world.

M. O'BRIEN: Wow. Very, very nice work, Anthony.

GOMES: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: Anthony Gomes, a one-man band in every sense of the word.

S. O'BRIEN: He does it all.

M. O'BRIEN: Think of all the people I need to prop me up. And Anthony's out there alone in Yakima.

S. O'BRIEN: It's a cast of thousands, really.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, really. It is.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Anthony.

Well, the Sunday after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel day of the year, and for the millions who were trying to get home there was good and there was bad and there was also tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROLE PITTS, BUS PASSENGER: There was quite a few people screaming for help.

S. O'BRIEN (voice over): Authorities in California say driver fatigue may have contributed to the fatal crash of a Greyhound bus on Sunday morning.

PITTS: I remember the bus going off to the side, and the next thing I know I'm picking my head up off the -- off the window, pouring dirt off my ear.

S. O'BRIEN: The bus, headed from Los Angeles to San Francisco, ran off the road on Highway 101 near Santa Marria, killing two people, injuring dozens of others.

In Arizona, a crash involving a van killed two people on Interstate 17 north of Phoenix. Traffic was backed up for miles.

Meanwhile, blizzard conditions wreaked havoc on drives in the Midwest as they tried to get home after the holidays. Winter storms shut down Interstate 70 from outside Denver to the Kansas state line. Rain tied up air traffic at one of the nation's busiest airports. Flights at Chicago O'Hare were delayed for up to an hour and a half.

Elsewhere, on what's typically one of the busiest travel days, it was pretty smooth sailing. And for that, people at New York's LaGuardia airport were thankful.

ALFONSO GOMEZ, HOLIDAY TRAVELER: I came here two hours early because I think it was -- I thought it was going to be crowded. But it's not crowded. It's empty.

SUE FELLING, HOLIDAY TRAVELER: Better than we thought.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You sound surprised.

FELLING: Yes. We thought it would be a pretty big hassle, but so far it's been pretty easy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Weather has been causing travel delays in the South and the Midwest, too. A line of tornadoes ripped through parts of Arkansas late last night and hit a lumber yard and scattered wood and debris all over the interstate. One motorist was killed in the aftermath of that tornado.

The same line of tornadoes raked through Kansas, too. Take a look at this.

More than 30 homes were damaged in Fort Riley. Lots of trees and power lines down this morning. So far, though, no injuries to report.

For folks who are still on the road, let's get a check of the weather this morning.

Jacqui Jeras is at the CNN Center for us.

Good morning.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Soledad.

We're going to have more trouble just like that, that we saw yesterday. Today it's going to be pushing a little bit farther up to the East from the southern Great Lakes to the Ohio River Valley, in the Tennessee River Valley, and the Deep South in particular. We're concerned about the threat of thunderstorms once again for today. The storm system is producing everything from blizzard conditions in parts of Nebraska to severe weather anticipated this afternoon.

The East Coast, you're in with some of this lousy weather today as well, but predominantly from this offshore high pressure system bringing in that easterly flow and bringing you in that chance of some rain showers of and off for today.

I'll spell it to you by the numbers, though, and show you that at least temperatures are feeling nice: 79 in Orlando for today, 61 in Atlanta, as well as Washington, D.C., into New York City. There we see the severe weather then as we head a little farther off to the west. It includes you in Indianapolis, to Nashville, down into Atlanta, the winter weather in the Dakotas and into the upper Midwest.

And we also have a very strong storm system moving into northern California. Heavy snow expected in the Sierras in the next couple of days. A couple of feet of snow will be possible in the higher elevations, which will be to the delight, I think, of many skiers in the West -- Soledad. S. O'BRIEN: Delight for the skiers, not such great news for people who are trying to travel. All right. Thanks very much, Jacqui.

Somebody who's on the road today is the president. Let's get right to Carol Costello. She's got that and other headlines, too.

Hey, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I do.

He is on the road today. He's set to give a speech later today in Tucson, Arizona, touting border security and promoting immigration reform. The president then flies to Phoenix for a fund-raiser.

CNN will, of course, have live coverage for you at 4:45 p.m. Eastern.

He was labeled an enemy combatant three years ago by the Bush administration. Jose Padilla could be in a Florida courtroom this morning. Padilla is facing charges he trained to be a terrorist.

Four Western aid workers in Iraq have likely been kidnapped. An American citizen is believed to be among the group. They went missing on Saturday. The group includes two Canadians and a British citizen.

And we've been telling you about travelers getting sidelined by severe weather. Look at this massive pileup in Washington State. More than 30 cars and trucks were apparently involved. It happened just outside of Arlington on Interstate 5.

At least nine people got hurt in all of this. None of them had serious injuries. One trooper says a wave of rain and sleet blew through the area and made it very difficult for other drivers to avoid an accident. And that's pretty obvious, isn't it, by these pictures?

New developments to tell you about in the CIA leak investigation. "TIME" magazine says another one of its reports, Viveka Novak, has been asked to testify. She is expected to give details about her conversations with Karl Rove's lawyer. Rove, as you know, is President Bush's top aide. Prosecutors are apparently still looking into Rove's alleged role into the leak of Valerie Plame's name.

And if you're not alone -- and you're not alone, rather, if you plan to point, click and shop today. This post-holiday Monday has become a big event for online retailers who refer to it as "Cyber Monday." Last year on this day, online shoppers spent $386 million.

That's a lot of money.

M. O'BRIEN: It's not that much.

COSTELLO: Oh, no.

M. O'BRIEN: Three hundred and eighty-six million?

COSTELLO: Oh, it's chump change.

M. O'BRIEN: No, I mean, in the grand scheme of things? What do they spend on Black Friday? Billions and billions, right? I don't have the number.

S. O'BRIEN: I don't have the...

COSTELLO: I don't have the slightest idea, but it sounds like a lot of money to me.

M. O'BRIEN: I'm just not buying the hype on this one.

S. O'BRIEN: You're not at all.

M. O'BRIEN: I think you can tell I'm skeptical.

S. O'BRIEN: Why?

M. O'BRIEN: I'm grouchy. I just got back from vacation. Give me a little break, will you?

S. O'BRIEN: OK. OK. We just won't check in with you throughout the morning.

M. O'BRIEN: Please. Just let me...

S. O'BRIEN: We're ignoring Miles for the rest of the show. That's all right.

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, the solution to broken levees in New Orleans. There's not an easy one, but could it be found thousands of miles away in the Netherlands? They do know something about these things. We'll look at some of their amazing engineering feats and explain if it can be applied here.

S. O'BRIEN: Also, a CNN exclusive this morning. Lieutenant General Russel Honore joins us. We'll find out what he has to say about a possible run for elected office.

M. O'BRIEN: Plus, a "House Call" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. More teens than ever are using sleeping pills to get a good night's rest. Not in my house, I might tell you, I hope.

Is it dangerous? It sounds like a bad idea to me. Anyway, that's -- there's more on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Fixing the levees of New Orleans, that's a big task. Just saying that sounds so easy, but, of course, the task is Herculean.

The levees that were there prior to Katrina were supposedly capable of withstanding a Category 3 storm. Katrina, of course, proved to be too much for them.

Were there some design issues? Were they not built properly? There's all kinds of issues that are wrapped up into this.

But when you look at how to build levees properly, how to build them well, you can't help but shift your attention to the Netherlands, which, after all, is a country largely below sea level. It just so happens that the ambassador to the Netherlands is touring that city today.

He joins us now with Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu. And the ambassador to the Netherlands is Boudewijn Van Eenennaam.

And how did I do, Mr. Ambassador?

BOUDEWIJN J. VAN EENENNAAM, NETHERLANDS AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: Very good.

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, thank you so much. I've been sweating that one all morning.

Good to have you both with us.

Let's talk about -- Mr. Ambassador, let's talk about your Katrina in your country, 1953. A North Sea storm came in and there were several breaches in your levee systems, several fatalities, several homes lost. Subsequent to that, a tremendous amount of money and effort were spent on building a comprehensive system.

In a nutshell, what sort of a system do you have as a result?

EENENNAAM: Well, you know, Miles, nearly two-thirds of our country is at or below sea level. And we have suffered many, many floodings. I think 17, as of 1,700, until 1953. And then when something hit us like Katrina we said, well, now we want this to be repaired and never again.

So we built a rather sophisticated system of flood protection, an integrated approach, including all of the technical aspects, the levees, but also economic aspects and the fisheries, environmental aspects. And I think we're doing quite well.

So I'm here to tell the people and the politicians in this region, in the Gulf Coast, how we did and hopefully they can learn from it.

M. O'BRIEN: You know...

EENENNAAM : And could I add, Miles, one thing?

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, please do. Go ahead.

EENENNAAM: Well, you said it was a lot of money. I'm here to explain that if you look at it in comparison to what this region and, for example, what in the Netherlands has produced in terms of the gross domestic product, it is not as expensive as people may think.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, that's a very good point. And Mr. Ambassador, one of the things you hit on there -- and I want to address this to the senator now -- is this whole notion of taking kind of a holistic approach and not trying to just stave off floods with a lot of concrete and steel. What you've done there in the Netherlands is you've recognized that Mother Nature always bats last, and you have to sort of be cognizant of that.

And one of the things that has happened in Louisiana -- and I know you, Senator, have been very vocal on this issue -- is the wetlands, which are the natural barrier to help protect against these storms, have been depleted by the way that this system, the Mississippi River system, has been managed.

How can that be undone? How can you fix that, Senator?

SEN. MARY LANDRIEU (D), LOUISIANA: Well, Miles, you've hit the nail on the head, if you would. And the ambassador's here in New Orleans touring parts of the city, the Ninth Ward, Lakeview, which you yourself have seen, as well as St. Bernard and the region. But this is much greater than New Orleans, much greater than the New Orleans region. It's about whether our nation can protect the Gulf Coast.

Part of the Gulf Coast lies below sea level, like the city of New Orleans. We're the nation's only energy coast.

The Netherlands flooded in 1953. And instead of abandoning their land, they decided to basically fight back, use the technologies, work with the environment.

The water can be both a friend and an enemy. And they learned that in the Netherlands.

And so they built a great delta works project. And I hope we can follow some of what they did. Maybe gulf works right here in the United States. Because once the insurance companies and people and banks and free capital understand that this region will again be secure, the great city of New Orleans, with a great levee protection system, investments in the coast, and an integrated water management system, Miles...

M. O'BRIEN: Well, that's a key point.

LANDRIEU: ... we can rebuild a great center. That's it, integrated water management.

M. O'BRIEN: That integrated system, because you have a patchwork system there of independent levee boards. The Corp of Engineers has to seek approvals and fundings from them. They don't always act in concert. In the case of a storm, they're not always communicating and doing things that are in concert with each other.

It's a -- sad to say, this is a legacy of the patronage system in Louisiana. And this needs -- this is a fundamental thing that needs to be changed, don't you think?

LANDRIEU: Miles, there's no doubt that it needs to be changed and more coordinated. But let me tell you, people came here 300 years ago to build this river, to help with trade and navigation, to take energy and water out of the Gulf of Mexico and provide it to the nation.

The federal government didn't step in and help us do that. We were doing it on our own the best we could. Obviously, that's not enough. We need a federal commitment.

We generate about $6 billion out of the Gulf of Mexico every year. As the ambassador said, just a small redirection of those funds could help us make the investments along the Gulf Coast that would ensure to the benefit of the people that live here and our children and grandchildren in the nation as a whole.

So, you're right, there are some things that we have to change here. But the most fundamental change has to be, the nation has to recognize the value of the Gulf Coast, the value of New Orleans and this great mouth of the Mississippi River, and make the political changes in Washington as well necessary to get this done.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. We're out of time, unfortunately. A big subject, and we will continue to follow it closely.

Thanks to Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu and the Netherlands ambassador, Boudewijn Van Eenennaam.

Am I two for two? Thank you very much.

Good to have you with us. Enjoy your tour -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, more and more teenagers are turning to pills to try to get some sleep. But do the risks outweigh the benefits? Dr. Sanjay Gupta will pay a "House Call" up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: There's been a sharp increase in the number of children taking pills to get to sleep. The FDA hasn't improved sleeping pills for kids, but doesn't prevent doctors from prescribing them either.

Our senior medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, takes a look at one teenager's struggle to get a good night's sleep.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Seventeen-year-old Katy Mullican was just three years old when she first started having difficulty sleeping.

KATY MULLICAN, DIAGNOSED WITH ADHD: Oh, I just remember just wanting to go to sleep, and my dad would come in and scratch my back and that would help me.

GUPTA: Three years later, when she started school, she was diagnosed with ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and started on medications. The problem is, her sleeplessness became even worse. So, since the age of 6, Katy has intermittently been on a combination of ADHD drugs, along with sleeping pills. Lots of drugs, and the sleep never returned.

MULLICAN: Lately it's been almost unbearable.

GUPTA: Profoundly affecting everything she does. She says she's been so tired in the last three years, she's missed more than 75 days of school due to fatigue that leaves her unable to function.

KAREN WEBER MULLICAN, KATY'S MOTHER: I literally had to take letters from her psychiatrist and psychologist into the guidance counselor and say, "Look, this is a real problem. This is not just 'I don't want to go to school.'"

GUPTA: Katy has seen several doctors and tried all the obvious things: no caffeine after school, no television or computer in the bedroom. At one point she even went of her ADHD medication hoping she might be able to sleep better, but she only fell into a deep depression and the sleeping problem still continued.

If this all sounds troubling, you should also know this: Katy's story is not unique. Today in the United States, almost one in 300 children age 10 to 19 take prescription sleeping medications. That's up 85 percent since 2000. And like Katy, about 15 percent of them are taking sleeping pills along with other medications to treat ADHD.

Worst of all for Katy is that people don't always understand her plight.

KATY MULLICAN: I mean, a lot of people just think, oh, well, you just need to get to bed earlier. But really, when your mind is going so fast at night, you can't do anything about it. And I wish people would realize that, because it's not easy to get to sleep. It's not easy to stay asleep.

GUPTA: So this 17-year-old has tried the gamut of sleep medications: Benadryl, Trazodone Lunesta. And just a month ago she started yet another one, Ambien.

Dr. Judith Owens, who runs a sleep clinic in Providence, Rhode Island, recognizes sleeping pills should be a last resort, but says sometimes it's worth it.

DR. JUDITH OWENS, SLEEP CLINIC DIRECTOR: There's a lot of data to support that sleep problems in children, including not getting enough sleep, can cause memory and learning and behavioral problems. So you also have to look at the consequences of the disorder itself, as well as of the medications.

GUPTA (on camera): Simply put, the risks of using a sleeping medication in a child need to be weighed against the risk of not getting enough sleep in the first place. The Food and Drug Administration has not approved any sleeping medications for children. So just how effective they are and how safe is still uncertain.

OWENS: Until they're tested in the pediatric population, we don't really know for sure. GUPTA (voice over): Teenagers need nine hours of sleep a night and average only seven. Katy was getting just three. With Ambien she sometimes gets up to six hours a night. Her doctor feels comfortable using the medication but intends to wean it off as soon as possible.

DR. GARY MONTGOMERY, KATY'S PHYSICIAN: Our goal is to really make her a good sleeper.

GUPTA: If it works, it will be the first time since Katy was a child that sleep came as naturally as it should.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Experts estimate that more than two million children suffer from some kind of a sleep disorder. That's a huge number.

M. O'BRIEN: It's a difficult problem. And I think, you know, the mother talking about how she had to explain it to the teachers, I don't think this is a problem that people really recognize in schools and probably treat as seriously as they should.

S. O'BRIEN: Poor kid.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, poor kid.

S. O'BRIEN: Missing 75 days of school. Jeez.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: That's terrible.

M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, something you can see here only on CNN only -- over. The man who led relief efforts in New Orleans has more to say about what he left behind. We have an exclusive interview with General Russel Honore. You don't want to miss it.

That's when AMERICAN MORNING continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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