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American Morning

Prison Escape; Ford Hospitalized; Road to Gold; Hostage Standoff

Aired January 17, 2006 - 06:00   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. We're glad you're with us this morning.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Soledad O'Brien. Welcome, everybody.

Armed and dangerous, that's what police are saying now as they search for two escaped inmates. We've got details on this story just ahead.

Also, we're watching that hostage standoff in Georgia. Two people claim to have a bomb. They have been holed up for almost 24 hours. We're live on that story.

M. O'BRIEN: We're also watching the condition of former President Gerald Ford. He's back in the hospital again, suffering from pneumonia. We're live with the latest on his condition.

And then there's this from Mayor Nagin in New Orleans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: Surely God is mad at America. He's sending hurricane, after hurricane, after hurricane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Surprising comments from the mayor of the Crescent City. And that wasn't all that he said that's raising some eyebrows this morning.

And a big night for "Brokeback Mountain." The gay cowboy drama takes four Golden Globes. We'll have more on that head.

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome, everybody.

We start this morning with that manhunt across two states. Two teenage murder suspects escaped from an overcrowded prison near the Alabama-Georgia border. Happened over the weekend. They are believed to be armed and extremely dangerous.

CNN's Betty Nguyen has details from Phenix City in Alabama.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Today marks the fourth day in a search for two escapees from the Russell County Jail here in eastern Alabama.

I want to put their pictures up for you. Those escapees are 17- year-old Johnny Earl Jones, charged with murdering a 2-year-old girl he was babysitting, and 19-year-old Lamar Alon (ph) Benton, charged with raping and murdering a 39-year-old woman. Officers say four guards were injured in that escape, one stabbed 15 times, although all are said to be recovering from their wounds.

Meanwhile, the search does continue today, not only here in Alabama, but across state line in Georgia. The two escapees are considered armed and dangerous.

In Phenix City, Alabama, Betty Nguyen, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: The latest word on former President Gerald Ford, he's doing well, resting comfortably. Ford is 92 years old now. He's back in the hospital for the second time in as many months, this time he's being treated for pneumonia.

Thelma Gutierrez is in Rancho Mirage, California.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Former President Gerald Ford is undergoing his fourth day of I.V. antibiotic treatment for pneumonia. His Chief of Staff, Penny Circle, tells us that doctors say they want to be prudent. And they thought that it would be best to hospitalize the former president while he's undergoing this kind of I.V. treatment.

We are told, also, that his wife of 57 years, Betty Ford, has come to visit the president. That he is doing well and that he is resting comfortably.

Now this is the second time in just a little over a month or so that the president has been hospitalized. On December 12, he was admitted to the Eisenhower Medical Center for scheduled tests. He also had a lingering cold, but his chief of staff tells us that she's not sure if that is related to the pneumonia that he is suffering from now. He's expected to be released either Wednesday or Thursday. And we're expecting an update from his chief of staff later this afternoon.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Rancho Mirage, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Al Gore is not mincing words. He says President Bush is flat out breaking the law. The former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate is talking about that controversial domestic surveillance program run by the National Security Agency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: What we do know about this pervasive wiretapping virtually compels the conclusion that the president of the United States has been breaking the law repeatedly and insistently.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Well you didn't think the White House would let that one go without firing back, did you?

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had the administration's response. He talked with CNN's Larry King last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: It's my understanding that during the Clinton administration there was activity regarding the physical searches without warrants, Aldrich Ames as an example.

I can also say that it's my understanding that the deputy attorney general testified before Congress that the president does have the inherent authority under the Constitution to engage in physical searches without a warrant. And so those would certainly seem to be inconsistent with what the former vice president was saying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: "LARRY KING LIVE" airs every weeknight on CNN at 9:00 p.m. Eastern -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: New Orleans now. The mayor there raising some eyebrows with his call for repopulating the city. He is calling for the rebuilding of a chocolate New Orleans, his term. The mayor's comment came during a Martin Luther King Day speech. Before Hurricane Katrina, about two-thirds of the city's 485,000 residents were black.

Listen to the mayor.

(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: In the 9:00 hour, we'll ask a New Orleans civil rights attorney about Nagin's comments.

It's time to put down the paintbrushes and pick up the textbooks in New Orleans. Classes begin this morning at Tulane, Xavier and southern universities. Loyola and Dillard started last week. Schools have been shut down since Katrina. Enrollment is lower, but officials hope the students' return will give New Orleans a much-needed boost, economic and psychological. Tulane is the city's largest employer -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, they found gold on "Brokeback Mountain," Golden Globes that is. The film followed its critical success with a good showing at the awards show last night.

CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas has the highlights from Beverly Hills this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It was a night full of drama and excitement at the 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards. The cowboys of "Brokeback Mountain" came in with seven nominations. In the end it got four awards, best director Ang Lee, best picture in the drama category, best original song and best screenplay.

In the comedy musical category, it was the Johnny Cash bio pic "Walk the Line" that was singing all the way home. It got best picture, best actress Reese Witherspoon and best actor Joaquin Phoenix.

In the world of TV, everyone thought that it would go to the ladies of Wisteria Lane. "Desperate Housewives" had five nominations. But in the end, it went to another lady. Mary-Louise Parker took home the gold, shutting out the ladies of Wisteria Lane.

Lots of surprises and lots of excitement at the 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Sibila Vargas, CNN, Beverly Hills.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: "Desperate Housewives" did win for best TV comedy. "Lost" won for best drama.

Coming up a little bit later on AMERICAN MORNING, we'll take a look at just who got snubbed and just how those who made early predictions for the Oscars think they'll do now that we know how the Golden Globes went. That's ahead. It's coming up in "A.M. Pop" this morning.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, I think Bradley Jacobs (ph) was six for six on his predictions.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, he did well.

M. O'BRIEN: So he'll have an opportunity to gloat a little bit.

All right, let's check the forecast, Chad Myers at the Weather Center.

Good morning -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Miles. (WEATHER REPORT)

Back to you.

M. O'BRIEN: I think you just created an early rush hour.

MYERS: There you go.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much -- Chad.

MYERS: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: Appreciate that.

MYERS: You're welcome.

M. O'BRIEN: NASA is aiming at the edge of the solar system, as we know it, today. The New Horizons space probe slated for launch this afternoon. It is a three-billion-mile journey to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. It'll take a decade to get there, so don't hold your breath. And that is at the fastest that a spacecraft that has ever left Earth has gone.

We don't know much about Pluto. As a matter of fact, all we know about it fits about on a postage stamp. Even the Hubble Space Telescope hasn't taken a very clear picture of it. New Horizons will fly by in 2015 or so, so set your calendars and Palm Pilots. It'll take measurements and pictures of Pluto and its moons.

Launch is scheduled for 1:23 Eastern Time today. And we'll -- I'll be here to make sure it goes off all right. So please join us on "LIVE FROM" with Kyra Phillips as we send New Horizons off to quite literally new horizons of the solar system.

S. O'BRIEN: That's pretty exciting.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, that's great.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's hope the weather holds.

Coming up, a developing story in Georgia. A police standoff in its second day now, a man and a woman holding a lawyer hostage, they say they have a bomb. We have a live report.

S. O'BRIEN: Also ahead this morning, the latest snag in the trial of Saddam Hussein. What is the real reason that the chief judge wants to quit? We're going to talk to a legal expert who helped train that judge.

M. O'BRIEN: And business news now. Find out why some accounting rules could put the squeeze on your pension.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: A hostage standoff in southeast Georgia well into its 20th hour right now. A couple took over a lawyer's office, saying they have got a bomb.

Terry Mann of affiliate WSB is in Statesboro, Georgia, about 200 miles southeast of Atlanta.

Terry, any negotiations? Any end in sight?

TERRY MANN, WSB-TV REPORTER: Miles, after a quiet night last night and a quiet morning, just moments ago, we heard a loud boom, possibly a loud gunshot, but it sounded more like maybe an explosion coming from the area where this standoff is taking place, about two blocks from where we're standing now in downtown Statesboro.

Police have us at quite a safe distance. So from this vantage point, we cannot see the building where two people are holding a lawyer hostage. This has been going on now for some 21 hours. It all began yesterday, just after 9:00 in the morning, when a couple, man and woman, went into the lawyer's office. A short time later, they took him hostage.

Now police talked to us last night, telling us that they have been talking to the couple off and on throughout the ordeal, but they are making little progress. But they say at least they are able to talk with these people and try to negotiate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF STAN YORK, STATESBORO POLICE: They have been very open, very honest and very calm in this matter and we have no reason to believe otherwise. The biggest thing is they are seeking justice for past crimes he was convicted of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: The suspects are identified as Robert and Connie (ph) Brower. And police say that Mr. Brower has a criminal record dating back several years.

Again, after 21 hours of really nothing happening, but police standing off with these hostage takers. Moments ago, we heard a loud explosion. And at one point the hostage takers had told police that they had explosives, but police had not confirmed that yet. When we learn more about what that sound was, we will bring it to you -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Terry, have you seen -- since that noise, have you seen much additional police activity?

MANN: Actually, Miles, right immediately following the loud boom that we heard, there was a rush of police activity. Several officers running back and forth across this street you see behind me, but still no word from police on what exactly happened -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: And do you know if there is some kind of trained SWAT team there on site?

MANN: Yes, actually the FBI has personnel here, Statesboro Police, as well as the Georgia State Patrol.

M. O'BRIEN: Terry Mann with our affiliate WSB, thanks very much.

We'll be keeping an eye on this story, obviously, throughout the morning.

Let's get some other headlines in. Carol Costello with that.

Good morning -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Miles.

Good morning to all of you.

You knew it was coming, a temporary judge has now been named to the top spot of the Saddam Hussein trial. Picks up again one week from today. The current chief judge, Rizgar Amin, submitted his resignation on Sunday. He has presided over the trial since October. In about 25 minutes, we're going to ask a legal adviser to the court how this change could affect the trial.

California has done it, it has executed the state's oldest condemned inmate. Clarence Allen, who turned 76 on Monday, was legally blind and confined to a wheelchair. Some protesters gathered outside of San Quentin Prison where Allen was pronounced dead a little less than three hours ago. Allen was sentenced to death for arranging the murders of three people in 1980 while serving a life sentence for another murder.

Another suspect now in custody in the beatings of three homeless men in southern Florida, 18-year-old William Ammons is due in court today. He was arrested Monday for his suspected role in the beatings. One of the victims died, but it appears Ammons is not linked to that incident. Two other suspects turned themselves in to authorities over the weekend. This surveillance tape shows one of the attacks in Fort Lauderdale.

A vote on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito on hold until next Tuesday. The Senate Judiciary Committee was supposed to vote today, but Democrats invoked their right to delay decision by a week. Alito was pretty much assured approval in the committee. He sailed through his testimony at last week's confirmation hearings. Alito would replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

It's something, sadly, we can all relate to, it will be a mess for some New York commuters this morning, thanks to a fiery crash. The crash actually happened yesterday, but take a look at how bad it was. In fact, crews are still busy cleaning up from that gasoline tanker truck fire. Happened on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. The truck was carrying 8,000 gallons of fuel when it overturned and caught fire. A temporary overpass collapsed onto the burning tanker. The driver got out OK. And amazingly enough, no one else was injured. It isn't often you are called on to help get someone out of a chimney, but firefighters in Los Angels got that call. And I'll try not to make any Santa Claus jokes, but it is tempting. Here's the story. A 20-year-old woman willingly climbed up inside of a chimney and then she got stuck. It took firefighters one half-hour to get her out. But the question remains, what was she doing in there in the first place? We're still trying to figure that one out.

Let's head to the Forecast Center now to check in with Chad.

Good morning.

MYERS: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad, thank you.

MYERS: OK.

S. O'BRIEN: Well deja vu all over again, as they say, another big company dropping its traditional pension plan.

Carrie Lee has got that. Got a "Financial News Update."

Good morning.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to both of you.

We're talking about Alcoa this time around, one of the Dow 30, the latest company to eliminate pension plans for new hires. Starting in March, the aluminum giant will instead offer new workers 401(k) plans. The latest company to do this. Alcoa will contribute 3 percent of a worker's salary and bonus, also match 6 percent of employee contributions.

Now this is though less extreme than the changes we have seen recently from IBM and Verizon. Those companies are actually freezing pension plans for current workers, and that means no one builds benefits after a certain date.

Now the reason companies do this, well, it's cheaper. People are living longer. And of course a pension means you get a guaranteed sum until you die. 401(k) plans offer companies more flexibility. And it also gives workers more flexibility as well. People change jobs more than they used to in years past, so you can take the money with you.

It does mean, though, more individual responsibility, of course, because you have to decide how your money is going to be invested. And you're responsible for making sure you don't run out before you die.

(CROSSTALK)

M. O'BRIEN: I guess we're all going to be greeters at Wal-Mart some day. LEE: Well, you know it's not a bad thing to be a more active investor. Older workers tend to like pension plans, of course, because that's what they are used to. But for younger workers, a 401(k) can actually be a better way to go.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

LEE: Of course people don't have the choice, though.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Carrie, thank you for that update.

LEE: OK, sure.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get right back to Carol with a look at what's coming up on "Morning Coffee."

Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning, Soledad, and welcome back.

Coming up, it was a wild time on the red carpet at the Golden Globe Awards. You know it's tough to replace Joan Rivers. Isaac Mizrahi tried, but he got a little too touchy-feely with some of the stars. It was ugly. I'll tell you more on "Morning Coffee" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

M. O'BRIEN: We're glad you're back.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: A little jaunt to...

S. O'BRIEN: I'd say it's so great to be back,...

M. O'BRIEN: ... Puerto Rico.

S. O'BRIEN: ... but I was in Puerto Rico,...

M. O'BRIEN: No, you would be lying. You would be lying.

S. O'BRIEN: ... so I would be completely lying, yes.

COSTELLO: Well I'm sure that I will improve your mood by my "Morning Coffee" segment.

S. O'BRIEN: Fabulous. Take it away.

COSTELLO: Because, did you know that if I want to know who were calling, I could just buy your cell phone records?

S. O'BRIEN: Really? COSTELLO: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: From whom?

M. O'BRIEN: What site do you go to to do this?

COSTELLO: Well there's a lot of blogs out there on the Internet.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: I don't want to give them away, though, because this is kind of funky. Anyway...

M. O'BRIEN: Like people can't find them anyway,...

COSTELLO: Well that's right, people can find them.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes.

COSTELLO: For about a hundred dollars, you can have someone look up records for almost anyone. All you need is the cell phone number. Several Web sites offer this service.

A blog site actually tried it out and got General Wesley Clark's phone log. Clark responded by asking people to call their senators. He says people need to get back a reasonable degree of privacy. Several lawmakers have now jumped on board. But for now, it's still technically legal. So for a hundred dollars and the person's phone number, you can get their phone records.

M. O'BRIEN: What?

S. O'BRIEN: A hundred bucks?

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: That's it.

S. O'BRIEN: Gosh, I'm glad I don't call anybody interesting.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes,...

S. O'BRIEN: Babysitter, Brad, babysitter, Brad,...

COSTELLO: Right.

S. O'BRIEN: ... my mother, babysitter, Brad and that's kind of it.

COSTELLO: And it's sort of a waste of a hundred bucks for you.

S. O'BRIEN: It is, yes.

M. O'BRIEN: And Wes Clark, I'm sure it's real exciting in his case, too...

S. O'BRIEN: Just...

COSTELLO: I know. I don't know.

M. O'BRIEN: Anyway.

COSTELLO: You know it is a beautiful thing when great big men kiss and make up. It means peace in the NBA. And is there anything more important than that?

S. O'BRIEN: Middle East peace, but go on.

COSTELLO: But anyway.

M. O'BRIEN: Wait a minute, great big men kissing and making up. Isn't that "Brokeback Mountain?"

(CROSSTALK)

S. O'BRIEN: These two.

COSTELLO: Watch these two. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal make up. The two superstars met last night and exchanged pleasantries and a hug on the open court.

S. O'BRIEN: That wasn't even a good hug. That was like a hey man.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes.

COSTELLO: There's a picture of it.

S. O'BRIEN: That was such a non-hug.

COSTELLO: Well they're manly men.

M. O'BRIEN: That's an I'm not gay hug, you know what I mean?

COSTELLO: Exactly.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. You know what I'm saying?

COSTELLO: I wasn't going to say that,...

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes.

COSTELLO: ... but that's what I meant. Shaq said...

M. O'BRIEN: Right, Pete (ph), you know what I'm talking about. Pete knows.

COSTELLO: Shaq says it was the thing to do on Martin Luther King Day. So it was all in the spirit of Martin Luther King. Kobe Bryant said it made him feel good. So good in fact,...

M. O'BRIEN: How good? COSTELLO: ... he scored 37 points. And for the first time since Shaq went to the Miami Heat, he lost to the Lakers. So maybe he should stay mad at Kobe, because it certainly seems to help his game.

S. O'BRIEN: So much for MLK Day.

COSTELLO: Yes.

The best action at last night's Golden Globes may have been on the red carpet. Before the show, fashion designer and TV show -- he -- actually, E! TV show host Isaac Mizrahi was the man to watch. You know he replaced Joan Rivers, who replaced Star Jones. And they have been trying to get somebody like spunky and spicy.

M. O'BRIEN: There's Scarlett. Yes.

COSTELLO: There's Scarlett Johansson.

Well when Isaac Mizrahi was interviewing the stunning actress Scarlett Johansson, he was wondering what kind of bra she was wearing, so he actually reached over and tweaked one of her breasts.

M. O'BRIEN: We don't have that tape?

COSTELLO: No, thank God, we don't.

S. O'BRIEN: Why not just ask her?

M. O'BRIEN: Just imagine it. Why not ask her to tweak her breast?

S. O'BRIEN: No, he'd ask her what kind of a bra she was wearing.

M. O'BRIEN: She'd say no. She'd...

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: He did. He did. But then he wanted to check it out for himself, so he needed to touch her.

It got worse, though, other highlights included Mizrahi going through Teri Hatcher's purse. And he also kept quizzing women about what kind of underwear they were wearing. He also quizzed Eva Longoria about a Brazilian bikini wax.

S. O'BRIEN: OK. Too much information no matter how she answers.

M. O'BRIEN: She...

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: That's when she was stunned. She was taken aback. She said what? So I don't know how long Isaac Mizrahi...

S. O'BRIEN: Was he funny, at least? I didn't see the pre-show. Was it... COSTELLO: Not according to the reviews. He was not funny.

M. O'BRIEN: No.

COSTELLO: It was too much. And he's such a likable guy, so I don't know what happened.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, the whole tweaking the breast thing, that's sure to turn some women off.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes. Onward we go. I'm just trying to paint the image. I was so sorry we didn't have the tape.

The morning's top stories are straight ahead, including some tough talk from the former Vice President Al Gore. He says President Bush broke the law. The story is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Former President Ford back in the hospital this morning. This time he is being treated for pneumonia.

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