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American Morning

Hostage Standoff in Georgia; Alabama Prison Escape; Gerald Ford Hospitalized

Aired January 17, 2006 - 09:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
Just what is New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin talking about?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: How do you make chocolate? You take dark chocolate, you mix it with white milk and it becomes a delicious drink. That's the chocolate I'm talking about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: We're not sure what he's talking about. We're going to talk about that this morning.

Former president Gerald Ford back in the hospital. This time he's got pneumonia. We're going to take you live to California for the very latest on his condition.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Miles O'Brien.

We're watching a hostage situation in Georgia this morning. The suspects holding off police for 24 hours now.

And there's this, also, the other end of the state. Armed and dangerous, that's what police say about two teenage murder suspects who escaped from prison on the Georgia-Alabama state line.

A live report there as well.

And a golden night in Beverly Hills. The stars came out to show off their finest. Some even walked away with statues. And now they are looking toward Oscar on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning to you. And glad you're with us. Last hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. Welcome back, everybody.

We start, in fact, this morning with a 24-hour hostage standoff happening in southeast Georgia. Just a few hours ago, there were reports of gunshots coming from the scene.

Rachel Kim of our affiliate WSB is in Statesboro, Georgia. It's about 200 miles southeast of Atlanta.

Rachel, good morning.

What's happening right now? Are they talking to the folks inside?

RACHEL KIM, REPORTER, WSB: Good morning, Soledad.

Well, the Statesboro police chief just wrapped up a press conference to explain what was going on this morning. Now, let me tell you that he tells us that about 6:00 a.m., during the negotiations process, the hostage-takers, as well as the hostage, actually came outside during the process. But something apparently happened which escalated the negotiations, resulting in two shots being fired.

Now, the good news is we know that no one was hurt in this incident. The police chief here tells us that the couple and the hostage then apparently went back inside. So we're back to square one, apparently.

The police chief also tells us that negotiations have been re- established and that they are positive at this point.

Now, one of the hostage-takers, Robert Brower (ph), police say his demands have not changed. He still "demands justice."

The police chief tells us that Brower (ph) is basically asking for another trial to clear his name. The police chief also not giving many details. He says that's because this is an ongoing investigation. And he'll have another update for us at 10:00 a.m. this morning -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right. We'll continue to follow that. Rachel Kim, of our affiliate WSB.

Thanks, Rachel. Appreciate it.

You'll want to stay with CNN for updates on this developing story this morning -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: At the other end of Georgia, a manhunt under way. Police looking for two murder suspects, two murder convicts, actually, who escaped from jail. Police say they are armed and dangerous.

CNN's Rusty Dornin is in Phenix City, Alabama, which is right on the border with Georgia.

Rusty, any leads?

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we just talked to Sheriff Tommy Boswell this morning, who told us that after his appearance on "ANDERSON COOPER" last night, they did receive some additional leads that they are following up on. It was a couple of people who claim they did see the suspects somewhere.

One said he saw them on the street, walking down the street. Another said they saw him in a convenience store. Apparently, it looks like if it was indeed those men, they were able to change out of their prison coveralls into some other kind of clothing. But the sheriff is not sure enough that it was those men that they are going to give us a description of that clothing.

Now, of course the investigators are following up on all of those leads, presumably they are going into that convenience store, taking a look at the tape and that sort of thing. The sheriff did say that -- they said that they were wearing other than prison garb and he does not think that they are still together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF TOMMY BOSWELL, RUSSELL COUNTY POLICE: The feeling in the investigative unit is that they've probably split up by now.

DORNIN: Why?

BOSWELL: Well, it's just each one came from different backgrounds. And we have found that in situations like this, people go to where they are familiar or known or think they have got support.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORNIN: The support they think that these men did get -- and they do believe that -- came after the incident. In other words, they don't think they had any help in getting out of jail. But within 24 hours after their escape, there's the possibility that some friends, somebody is helping them either change clothes, giving them a place to stay, or whatever.

Now, initially, they thought they went right into Columbus, Georgia, which is just on the other side of the Chattahoochee River. Now he says he is not sure. People come back and forth all the time, they may have come back here. It's a very rural area mixed in with urban, and there may be plenty of places where these people could hide -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, Rusty Dornin. Let's just clarify, they are murder suspects, not convicts awaiting trial.

Rusty Dornin in Phenix City, Alabama.

Thanks very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Former president Gerald Ford in the hospital for a second time just over a month. He's being treated for pneumonia. At Mr. Ford's age, 92 years old, it's a fairly dangerous condition.

Thelma Gutierrez is live for us this morning in Rancho Mirage in California, about 120 miles east of L.A.

Hey, Thelma. How is he reported to be doing this morning?

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Soledad, we're expecting the president's chief of staff to give us an update within the next few hours. But we are told that he is doing well and that he's resting comfortably after being admitted here to the Eisenhower Medical Center. We're also told that the president's wife of 57 years, Betty Ford, has come to visit her husband ever since he was admitted on Saturday.

This is the fourth day that the former president has undergone IV antibiotic treatment for pneumonia, and we're told that doctors just wanted to be a little extra cautious. And so they admitted him for that treatment, because at 92, President Ford is now the oldest living president in the United States. But overall, he is said to be in good health and he's expected to be released either Wednesday or Thursday -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Thelma Gutierrez for us this morning with an update on the former president.

Thanks, Thelma.

Other stories making news. Carol has got that.

Carol, good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, Soledad.

Good morning to all of you. California has executed its oldest death row inmate. Clarence Ray Allen was given a fatal injection about six hours ago. Allen had just turned 76 years old on Monday.

Some anti-death penalty protesters showed up outside the San Quentin Prison last night. Allen was diabetic, blind and confined to a wheelchair. He was executed for arranging the murders of three people in 1980 while behind bars for another murder.

More now on a story that's getting huge attention here in New York, the death of an abused 7-year-old girl. Nixzmary Brown was starved, tied to a chair and beaten to death. Her stepfather and mother are charged in her death.

Her story is so horrific that hundreds of New Yorkers were moved to line up in the freezing cold to attend her wake. People are angry at the parents, angry at the Children Services Administration. They are bringing teddy bears and flowers. Some knew her. Others have come to think of her as one of their own.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will never forget that she's my best friend.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My other son was the brother's classmate. And he tells me, "Mom, why can't you bring them to our home so we can take care of them the way they need?" And it's very difficult to explain to your kids.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just coming to pay my respects because I think it's a tragedy. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is terrible. This is everything. This is so -- well, I'm shocked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The wake continues again today for Nixzmary Brown. Her funeral will be held tomorrow.

Turning to Iraq now, a temporary judge has been named to lead the Saddam Hussein trial. The current chief judge submitted his resignation. He has presided over the trial since October. The trial is set to resume one week from today.

And it's back to school today for a lot of New Orleans college students. Classes for Tulane, Xavier and Southern University is opened for the first time since Hurricane Katrina struck in August. Still, it's not exactly like it was before the storm. Some students will attend classes in a trailer and hotel conference rooms.

And quite a surprise for firefighters in Los Angeles. They got a call about a woman stuck in that chimney. While they were pulling her to safety, they had to tie a rope around her, you see, and pull her out by her arms. It took them about a half-hour to get her out of the chimney. And we still don't know why she went in there in the first place.

We do know she crawled into the chimney willingly. But again, Chad, we don't know exactly why.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, I have one thing to say.

COSTELLO: What?

MYERS: Santa Claus is the man, because he never ever gets stuck.

COSTELLO: It's a true story.

MYERS: I don't know how he does it. That little finger thing on the side of his nose and up he goes.

COSTELLO: It's magic.

MYERS: It certainly is.

Five degrees right now, which is not magic in Montreal. It could be an ice storm for you, also for Albany and into parts of Buffalo.

And you say, well, wait a minute, how come it's just not going to snow? Because the warm air coming on top of this area, about 3,000 feet up, is 40 degrees. Can't make snow at 40. So it tries to rain down, and it rains into weather that's 25. Well, that makes sleet and ice.

Sixty in Birmingham right now, 66 in Mobile. Strong line of weather hitting into Birmingham right now, all the way up just to the east of Nashville.

A little farther out to the West, a cold day, windy day in the Plains. Going to have some fire danger possibly in parts of Texas, although they did see some showers as the storm passed yesterday.

Tomorrow lake-effect snow for upstate New York, Buffalo, Watertown. Also some snow in the mountains here.

And another rainy day from northern California right up to Portland -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Chad.

"Brokeback Mountain" is now the favorite for best picture at the Oscars. The cowboy love story cleaned up at the Golden Globes last night.

CNN's Sibila Vargas was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The big winner of the night, "Brokeback Mountain." The film about two gay cowboys took the Golden Globe award in four out of the seven categories in which it had received nominations, including best dramatic picture.

JAMES SCHAMUS, PRODUCER, "BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN": We are stunned, and thanks to the Hollywood Foreign Press.

VARGAS: Also stunned, Hoffman and Huffman, the winning actors in the dramatic film category. Philip Seymour Hoffman won for his portrayal of novelist Truman Capote in "Capote."

PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN, ACTOR, "CAPOTE": "In Cold Blood."

VARGAS: And Felicity Huffman for her role as a transsexual in "Transamerica."

FELICITY HUFFMAN, ACTRESS, "TRANSAMERICA": I can't handle this.

I would like to salute the men and women who brave ostracism, alienation and a life lived on the margins to become who they really are.

VARGAS: In the musical or comedy film category, "Walk The Line" won top honors for best picture, while co-stars Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix took best actor and actress awards in a musical or comedy for their portrayals of Johnny and June Carter Cash.

JOAQUIN PHOENIX, ACTOR: ... to John and June for sharing their life with all of us.

VARGAS: George Clooney, who had three individual nominations in three different categories, including best supporting actor in a drama for "Syriana," was the first award of the night.

GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR: This is early. I haven't had a drink yet.

VARGAS: British actress Rachel Weisz earned the prize for best supporting actress in a drama for "The Constant Gardener."

The winners in the Golden Globe film categories are closely watched as leading contenders for Academy Awards in two months.

Meanwhile, ABC was television's big winner of the evening. The thriller "Lost" won best TV drama, while fan favorite "Desperate Housewives" won for best comedy or musical TV show.

The best comedic actress went to "Weeds" star Mary-Louise Parker.

MARY-LOUISE PARKER, ACTRESS: I thought we were all kind of desperate housewives, so mine was just a little more desperate than theirs were.

VARGAS: Best actor in a TV comedy went to Steve Carell for "The Office." His acceptance speech, he said, was written by his wife.

STEVE CARELL, ACTOR: I would also like to thank my wife, Nancy.

VARGAS: And "Commander in Chief" star Geena Davis won best actress in a TV drama for her betrayal as the first female U.S. president.

GEENA DAVIS, ACTRESS: This is really wonderful for a fledgling little show like ours.

VARGAS: A golden night for all the Golden Globe winners.

Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, you have no doubt heard what Mayor Ray Nagin said in New Orleans yesterday. We talked about it a little bit this morning. We still can't quite figure it out.

He talked about rebuilding a chocolate New Orleans. He said god is mad at the country and Americans and black people. Was it racially divisive?

S. O'BRIEN: Also this morning, we're going to meet a woman who is literally obsessed with perfection and see how the fear of even making a tiny mistake is just paralyzing for her.

M. O'BRIEN: And later, a firefighter who gives new meaning to the term "working mom." She checked out of the hospital and aced a promotion test just 12 hours after giving birth.

They wouldn't move the test, and I guess she knows a lot about...

S. O'BRIEN: But there's the baby coming.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, there's the baby coming, there's the test, and it all happened pretty much on one day.

Back with more in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: It's the day after Mayor Ray Nagin in New Orleans made some comments that has a lot of people buzzing all across the country and in the city of New Orleans. WWL is the powerhouse radio station there. The city council president, a friend of ours here on the program, Oliver Thomas, is taking some calls.

Let's listen for one second to it live.

OLIVER THOMAS: It wasn't playing too well with a lot of leaders in Washington. So we're going to have to clean that up.

And, you know, once again, anyone who knows Ray Nagin, he really loves this city. He's definitely not a racist. We've just got to be careful in the messages that we give, because we all need to come together this time. If we don't, we're not going to make it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, absolutely.

THOMAS: All right, Bob.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.

Oliver Thomas, I want to just mention that this portion of our WWL news brought to you by the flavor of the day. What is it?

THOMAS: Willy Wonka, man.

M. O'BRIEN: Willy Wonka or, of course, chocolate would be the flavor of the day in the wake of Mayor Ray Nagin's comments.

Let's check in now with Tracie Watson -- Washington, I should say. She is a civil rights attorney who has been working in some of the hard-hit neighborhoods of New Orleans.

Tracie, I just -- I know you've heard them. We've played them a lot this morning. But just in case people are just tuning in, I just want to play a little section of what the mayor had to say yesterday, commemorating MLK Day.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAGIN: This city will be chocolate at the end of the day. This city will be a majority African-American city. It's the way god wants it to be. You can't have New Orleans no other way. It wouldn't be New Orleans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: All right, Tracie. What do you think of all that? TRACIE WASHINGTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, you know, I'm not sure. And quite frankly, I'm done with trying to figure out what our mayor is going to say off the cuff on any given day.

It was an unfortunate goofball statement for him to make. And, you know, all it has really done is made the city look just a little bit more ridiculous. And that truly is unfortunate. And especially on Martin Luther King Day.

There were so many other statements that he could have made that would have spoke volumes to what this city is trying to do as far as race relations. And that just didn't cut it.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's listen a little bit after he made those comments that you describe as "goofball." He spoke to Ed Reams, a reporter we've heard from many times here from WDSU.

Let's listen to what he said to Ed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAGIN: How do you make chocolate? You take dark chocolate, you mix it with white milk, and it becomes a delicious drink. That's the chocolate I'm talking about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: OK. Does that make things any better for you, Tracie?

WASHINGTON: That's Ovaltine. It's, what, Ovaltine? Come on, give me a break.

Look, it was MLK Day. Yes, this city will probably be a majority African-American city, no doubt, in the coming years. But we don't want a majority poor African-American city.

What he could have spoken to is what we're going to do to repair the economic viability of this city, what we're going to do to repair the infrastructure. For heaven's sakes, let's get some lights and some gas in the city. Let's make sure this is not a poor majority African-American city.

He could have done so much to make the race relations in this city so much better, and he did not do that. And that's the message that he should have brought out on Martin Luther King Day.

M. O'BRIEN: I guess underlying all this is an assumption that race relations in the city of New Orleans, particularly post-Katrina, remain a little bit frayed. True?

WASHINGTON: Well, they are a little bit frayed. And they're going to be frayed for a while. But that doesn't mean we can't all work together to work toward having better race relations.

We can have a city that's like Atlanta. We can have a city where there is viable black business, where blacks and whites work together so that African-Americans are not only serving you in hotels, but they own the hotels, as well.

That's the message he should have brought. Look, we want blacks and whites to work together in this city so that we don't ever have a scene like we had at the convention center, at the Superdome again. And that's not what he did.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. I want to get one more excerpt in, because it just -- the term you use is "goofball." This seems to take it into another realm of goofballishness.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAGIN: As we think about rebuilding New Orleans, surely god is mad at America. He's sending hurricane after hurricane after hurricane. And it's destroying and putting stress on this country. Surely he's not approving of us being in Iraq under false pretenses. But surely he is upset at black America, also.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Well, it seems as if went to the Pat Robertson correspondence school of speaking there.

Where did that come from?

WASHINGTON: I don't know whether he was -- whether he was having a seance yesterday morning with Martin Luther King, whether he was acting as Pope Clarence Ray Nagin. I'm not sure where all of this came from.

You know, if you're trying to pander to get votes by speaking to African-Americans on one stump, yet speaking to white New Orleanians on another stump, saying you don't want trailers in town, you're not going to cut it. That's not going to get votes in this town.

You want to get votes, bring people together. You cannot pander to one race on one day and pander to another race on another day and expect this city to come together. And that's truly what real New Orleanians want. That's what we want for our city.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much.

New Orleans civil rights attorney Tracie Washington.

Thanks for your perspective. We do appreciate it.

We'll be back with more in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: More than three million Americans have some form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD. And a small percentage have a severe form of the illness with an overwhelming need for perfection.

Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has more in this morning's "House Call."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Folding laundry is such a simple task. But watch what happens when Shannon Fleishman tries to fold this shirt.

SHANNON FLEISHMAN, PERFECTION OBSESSION DISORDER: I don't really want to touch that.

COHEN: She is desperate to smooth the wrinkles that bother only her. She is tortured that these sock seams don't lineup perfectly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How anxious are you on a scale from zero to 10?

FLEISHMAN: Ten.

COHEN: These clothes look fine to the rest of us, but in Shannon's mind they're a wrinkled, disorganized mess. And she wants more than anything...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Try not to touch them again.

COHEN: ... to make them look perfect.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go ahead and shut it.

COHEN: As painful as this is to watch, imagine how painful it is for Shannon, who has a form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder called Perfection Obsession.

FLEISHMAN: A fear of making mistakes regardless of how little, how small or minute it might be.

COHEN (on camera): So getting a load of dirty clothes off the floor would take three hours?

FLEISHMAN: Well, I only got three items in three hours.

COHEN (voice over): Growing up, Shannon was an incredible kid: a popular girl, an A-plus student admired by her teachers, and a gifted athlete. She was the daughter every parent dreamed of.

LORI FLEISHMAN, SHANNON'S MOTHER: We were extremely proud of Shannon and her accomplishments.

S. FLEISHMAN: Spend six to eight hour as night on homework, because I would check everything and everything was done so thoroughly.

COHEN: So it sounds like you were in some ways the perfect girl.

S. FLEISHMAN: I was like the golden child.

COHEN (voice over): Shannon graduated fourth in her class and was voted most likely to succeed. She won a softball scholarship to college.

S. FLEISHMAN: I have the expectations that's like a 4.0 what I want to get, a 4.0.

COHEN: She began what psychiatrists call obsessive compulsive rituals, counting everything.

S. FLEISHMAN: I would brush my teeth it sets of eight, I would blow my nose in sets of eight. I would put makeup on in sets of eight. The number of times I padded under my eyes in sets of eight, which I still do.

COHEN: Shannon checked into McLean Hospital's OCD Institute, a residential hospital dedicated to treating patients like hers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's try to put a big wrinkle in the middle.

COHEN: She is taking medication and getting intense behavioral therapy like this...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Leave the hair on it.

COHEN: It's called exposure therapy.

S. FLEISHMAN: Just leave it how it is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes? Does that bother you?

S. FLEISHMAN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Then let's leave it.

COHEN: And counselor Carol Hevya (ph) is helping Shannon to deal with her biggest fears...

Stop before the last tuck.

S. FLEISHMAN: All right. I can do this.

COHEN: ... by confronting them head on.

S. FLEISHMAN: All right. I guess it's done.

COHEN: Shannon has been at McLean for a month and a half, and she is halfway through her treatment.

(on camera): Do you think you'll ever come to feel that this bed is good enough even with this wrinkle, even with that lint?

S. FLEISHMAN: Honestly, no. I think I can live with little wrinkles. I don't think that my OCD will ever go away. I think that I can control it. Like, maybe I can make my bed in five minutes, you know, would be great.

COHEN (voice over): Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Belmont, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Elizabeth says many people suffering from OCD are prescribed antidepressants. And while those antidepressants help, they're far from a cure.

Elizabeth's story first aired on "PAULA ZAHN NOW." That can be seen weeknights at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Coming up, who says you can't have a family and a career. We're going to meet a new mom who gave birth and then just 12 hours later turned around and aced an exam for a promotion. How did she do it? We've got her story ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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