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American Morning
Challenge for Tom DeLay; South Africa Rape Trial; Training Medics
Aired March 07, 2006 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Disturbing details in the trial of the man once thought to be Nelson Mandela's rightful successor. We're live in South Africa with this story for you this morning.
Also, Tom DeLay runs for his political life. Challenges, though, within his own party could ultimately bring him down.
And then take a look at this. This little puppy getting some extra treats this morning did a pretty amazing job. We'll tell you that story, as well.
Welcome back, everybody.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good to have you back.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: Did you have a nice break? A little skiing.
S. O'BRIEN: I had a really nice -- yes, I took the girls skiing. Oh my god, they're little and they're a terror on skis. Fast, low to the ground.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh, yes. Fearless...
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: ... low center of gravity. Bad combination. You know?
(LAUGHTER)
M. O'BRIEN: Anyway, let's get some headlines in. Carol has that.
Good morning, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Good morning to all of you.
The Arab network Al-Jazeera has just released this videotape of a group of Western hostages being held in Iraq. The two Canadians, one Briton and one American disappeared last November. They were last seen in a videotape in January. The American hostage does not appear in this new video, and thought the video is silent, Al-Jazeera says the men asked their governments to work for their release.
The penalty face in the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui resumes in Virginia today. Moussaoui is the only person charged in the United States in connection with the September 11 attacks. Prosecutors say he lied to cover up a terror plot.
Moussaoui admits he's al Qaeda but says he didn't know beforehand about the attacks. He could get the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
A promising treatment for people with Multiple Sclerosis could be back on the market, but the drug is not without its problems. Drug makers pulled Tysabri one year ago after two patients died. Now an FDA panel will consider whether it should be allowed back on the market. About 350,000 Americans suffer from MS.
And Maryland's Hood College says it is now reviewing its homecoming rules after a woman was crowned homecoming king. Twenty- one-year-old Jennifer Jones, who describes herself as a lesbian, thinks the honor is pretty darn cool. Not everyone agrees.
One of the young men competing for the title says the outcome makes the event seem like a joke. But she won fair and square. She won the majority of the votes from the students on campus who voted. So hey...
S. O'BRIEN: Every year there's that kind of drama, whether you're talking about the homecoming queen as a guy, the homecoming king as a girl.
COSTELLO: Apparently, she's very popular on campus, so we'll see what happens.
S. O'BRIEN: It's all about the votes. All right.
Carol, thank you.
Tom -- talk about voting, Tom DeLay's political future could take a big hit today, even bigger, believe it or not, than his indictment on money laundering charges. The Texas Republican faces stiff competition from his own party in a congressional primary.
AMERICAN MORNING'S Bob Franken has more for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Here in Tom DeLay's hometown of Sugarland, Texas, and throughout his congressional district, his reelection has become almost a foregone conclusion. Over 22 years where DeLay has accumulated huge power in Washington, but now a lot of that power has been stripped away.
He is no longer the majority whip. He is under indictment for charges related to alleged money laundering, campaign finance money laundering. And there are charges, allegations of an association with disgraced convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Now DeLay has to face opposition, opposition within his party. Three are running against him.
Unless DeLay wins a majority, a clear majority in today's election, he'll face a runoff next month. And if he survives that, he's going to also face a newly invigorated Democratic Party.
So this is going to be a real test for Tom DeLay. A test that begins with today's vote.
Bob Franken, CNN, Sugarland, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: President Bush is going to have to go home to Texas today to vote in primaries because of a state -- a mistake, rather, that one of his staffers made. The staffer apparently forgot to apply for absentee ballots for the president and Mrs. Bush. Thus, the trip.
That staffer has been killed. No, kidding about that.
Other stories, of course. Miles has got that.
M. O'BRIEN: Now to South Africa, where a scandalous trial is drawing worldwide attention. It involves a charismatic political leader who is on track to be South Africa's next president and considered Nelson Mandela's heir. Now he's accused of raping a woman who called him her uncle.
CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh is following the trial. He joins us live from Johannesburg, South Africa.
Alphonso, good morning.
ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
As you mentioned, it is a scandal that's rocking this country. The lawyers for former deputy president Jacob Zuma saying they want to introduce the sexual history of his accuser into the case. It is a scandal that has the entire country watching.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VAN MARSH (voice over): Former South African deputy president Jacob Zuma, with the glasses, holds the number two post in the political party once led by Nelson Mandela. The charismatic man once positioned to be South Africa's likely next president is fighting charges he raped a family friend.
Zuma's supporters rally outside Johannesburg's high court where Zuma pleaded not guilty Monday. They say the rape and separate corruption trial against the antiapartheid struggle hero are a conspiracy to end Zuma's political career.
BHEKA DLUDLA, ZUMA SUPPORTER: There is no one who can stand up and say (INAUDIBLE). VAN MARSH: Inside court someone did. An HIV-positive AIDS activist testified how Zuma allegedly forced himself on her in his home.
The 31-year-old says 63-year-old Zuma came to her guest room naked and began massaging her against her will. She testified that Zuma knew her HIV status and that Zuma had sex with her without a condom.
In a statement to the court, Zuma said the encounter was consensual sex and that "She could have left at any time but she stayed for the night."
In this drama, sex is a central theme. One of the judges associated with the case stepped down as it was revealed Zuma fathered a child with the judge's sister.
Women's rights groups say politicizing this case will discourage others in a country where they say only one in nine women report rape.
DUMISANE REBOMBO, PEOPLE AGAINST WOMEN'S ABUSE: This is a human rights issue. This about power relations. This is not politics.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAN MARSH: That's right. Advocates say that they'll be visible outside the courtroom until there's a verdict. If Jacob Zuma is found guilty, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
M. O'BRIEN: Alphonso, as I understand it, South Africa has one of the highest incidences of rape in the world. How is this trial bringing attention to that issue?
VAN MARSH: It is bringing a lot of attention to this issue. There are no official statistics per se, but it is estimated that some 55,000 rapes are reported per year. But as I mentioned in the piece, some women's advocates say that about only about one in nine women actually report the rape, as it happens.
One of the issues that concern many here is alleged harassment against the accuser. This morning, for example, some of the pro-Zuma supporters took images of the accuser, photocopied, and just burned them in front of the courthouse. People are very worried that this could discourage other rape survivors from actually reporting the alleged incidents -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Alphonso Van Marsh in Johannesburg.
Thank you -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Terrible details there.
Time for a check of the forecast, 20 minutes past the hour -- 28 minutes past the hour.
Sorry, Chad. Just back from vacation. Kind of getting it together here.
Good morning. Nice to see you.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad. Thank you.
MYERS: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: A little bit of good news here. The survival rate for wounded U.S. troops is higher than it has ever been before. Better-trained medics could be the main reason. Coming up, we're going to take you to the only Army medic school in the country.
M. O'BRIEN: Also, security worries are fueling the controversy over that U.S. port deal. But when it comes to security, Dubai may actually be on the cutting edge.
We will explain on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: More military men and women are surviving their injuries than in any previous conflict, including the Vietnam War.
AMERICAN MORNING'S Kelly Wallace has more on this in her second part of her series on those who are wounded in Iraq.
Good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
So, I was sort of surprised to learn this. And there are a couple reasons for it -- better body armor, faster medical evacuations. But when you talk to some Army commanders, they think really one of the major reasons, more combat medics on the front lines, getting specialized training to try and save lives on the battlefield.
So what we wanted to do, we want to go behind the scenes to see how these soldiers are trained to become combat medics. So we take you now inside the Army's only medic training school here in the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE (voice over): An explosion at a Baghdad market. U.S. Army medics rush in and within minutes must decide who needs to be treated first.
It's make-believe, but designed to feel, sound and look like the real thing. All to prepare these would-be medics for combat. CLAY WALKER, SIMULATION TECHNICIAN: We want to ingrain in them when they see it it's an automatic reaction. It's just a response. I have a limb removed, I need to stop that bleeding.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who's the company commander?
WALLACE: Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, the site of the Army's only medic training school. Any soldier-turned-medic heading to Iraq or Afghanistan is trained here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to check your respiration again, all the way down to your chest. I'm going to go ahead and...
WALLACE: In essence, they are getting one year of medical school in a 16-week course...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I'm going to go ahead and administer.
WALLACE: ... learning primary care, emergency medical techniques and combat medicine all at once.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you worked on him?
WALLACE: It's tough. About 15 percent don't make it past the first few weeks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It took you three and a half minutes to realize that he was missing his leg.
WALLACE: They could mean the difference between life and death. Nearly 90 percent of military men and women wounded in Iraq survive, which is higher than the 78 percent survival rate for the first Gulf War and 73 percent for Vietnam.
Leaders here say that's partly because there are more highly- trained combat medics, more soldiers on the front lines with basic medical knowledge.
COL. PATRICIA HASTINGS, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, MEDIC TRAINING: The combat medic allows the patient to come in as a patient and not a victim so that the physicians and nurses at the upper echelons of care can take care of them and get them back to the states.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you hear me? Can you hear me? One, two, three.
WALLACE: The training is constantly updated based on what soldiers are now seeing regularly on the battlefields of Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, how is his breathing?
WALLACE: For instance, new types of injuries from IEDs can be woven into the training here in less than 90 days.
WALKER: We get feedback from our doctors and our VAs back from the war, and this is the injuries they are seeing. WALLACE: Eight of the 16 weeks are devoted entirely to combat medicine.
Can they work in the darkness? What if they come under fire? Can they handle the seriously wounded?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How's he working, doc?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's doing good. He's doing good.
WALLACE: In this scenario, four soldiers come across an infantryman whose hand has been blown off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, doc. Hurry up.
WALLACE: These soldiers have been here now for 12 weeks and say the highly-specialized training is invaluable.
PFC. RUBEN RYAN, MEDIC TRAINEE: By the time we're released to go with the regular line units, we're going to be that much more advanced or be able to pick up the slack where we need to.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on, doc. Hurry up. We've got to get going.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. All right.
WALLACE: Trying to give these soon-to-be medics a sense of what they will see on the battlefield before they actually see it for themselves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hang in there, buddy. We're taking good care of you. We'll get you out of here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And some 7,000 soldiers will be trained at the school this year. That's about 2,000 higher than the yearly number before the September 11 attacks.
And Soledad, a third of those who are graduating in this training program this year will be going off to Iraq within six months of their graduation.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, wow. So a huge percentage.
You know, the family members of Bob Woodruff, the ABC anchor who was wounded in Iraq as well, said something very similar. That it was really the people right there who took immediate care of him who saved his life.
WALLACE: That is exactly it, because, I mean, these men and women are not able to perform any major surgeries or anything. I mean, they're going to check your airway, going to check your breathing, stop the bleeding. They're going to do what they can to try to sustain your life and then get you to a facility where you're going to have doctors and nurses who are -- you know, do the other care.
S. O'BRIEN: They're obviously getting better at it.
WALLACE: So they're -- they're getting better at it, they're getting better training. And then, again, there are more of them...
S. O'BRIEN: Right.
WALLACE: ... which in the case of Bob Woodruff, I know his family has said they think they helped save his life.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank god, yes.
All right, Kelly. Thanks. Great piece.
WALLACE: Sure.
S. O'BRIEN: Ahead, Andy is "Minding Your Business."
Good morning to Andy.
What have you got coming up?
ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE": Good morning, Soledad.
Two hot new video games to tell you about. One, good, clean fun. The other, not so much. It has family values.
We'll explain coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: I was going to say, what a pretty shot.
M. O'BRIEN: Clean that window. Clean that window.
S. O'BRIEN: On the other hand...
SERWER: What was that?
S. O'BRIEN: Well, the sun is rising, it's gorgeous. And then it's like, ooh, but a dirty camera lens.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes. No, it's not the lens. I think it's actually the window.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, is it our window?
M. O'BRIEN: And I think Brad would risk life and limb if he went outside to clean that.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, yes.
Yes, Brad, don't do that. We're high up here.
M. O'BRIEN: Brad has a nice clean lens, always. Let's get the window washers out there.
Anyway...
S. O'BRIEN: Business news, yes, in a moment.
M. O'BRIEN: In a moment.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's get to Carol first. Let's get an update of the...
M. O'BRIEN: We're waiting for that any minute.
S. O'BRIEN: ... of the headlines.
Hey, Carol. Good morning again.
COSTELLO: Good morning.
A series of car bombs ripping through Baghdad. Two of the attacks were apparently targeting U.S. troops.
There are also explosions in other parts of Baghdad and south of the capital. North of Baghdad, gunmen attacked two Iraqi police patrols. At least four people killed in today's attacks. No word of any American casualties.
A new bill in South Dakota is challenging Roe v. Wade, the case that legalized abortion. South Dakota Governor Michael Rounds has signed a law banning most types of abortions. It's set to take effect July 1. The law is likely to spark a legal challenge that could be tied up in the courts for years.
Remembering Kirby Puckett. The hall-of-famer led the Minnesota Twins to two World Series. His 12-year career cut short by glaucoma.
Kirby Puckett died on Monday after suffering a stroke. He was only 45 years old.
Former Enron chief -- chief financial officer, I should say, Andrew Fastow, is facing off against his old bosses in court. He's set to take the stand today as a key prosecution witness. Fastow was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in Enron's collapse. And, oh, expect him to point fingers.
And more proof that a dog is indeed man's best friend. A newly- adopted puppy is credited with saving the lives of a New Jersey family. It seems Toby, a Norwegian Elkhound, started barking nonstop when fire broke out in the basement. Because of Toby -- there's Toby, the hero -- because of Toby, the family managed to escape the flames, but they could not save three cats who died in the fire.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh.
COSTELLO: Good for Toby.
Good for Toby, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh. How did you know I was loving Toby? I'm kind of a dog guy. I'm kind of a sucker for that stuff, you know?
COSTELLO: He's a cutie.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes. Thank you, Carol.
For all of you fans of the old Pong game -- and you love Pong, right?
SERWER: That goes back.
S. O'BRIEN: That goes way back.
SERWER: Twenty years?
M. O'BRIEN: I've got to tell you, it's the last -- it's the last video game I mastered, was Pong.
SERWER: Twenty years.
M. O'BRIEN: And it's been downhill from there on. I got burned doing the Halo 2. And he's like pushing these buttons -- I have no idea.
SERWER: He's pushing your buttons.
M. O'BRIEN: He is pushing my buttons, big time. There is that.
S. O'BRIEN: Pong was slow, kind of easy.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. I get it, you move the thing. It bounces. You know...
SERWER: It wasn't raunchy, either.
S. O'BRIEN: No.
SERWER: That's another thing.
M. O'BRIEN: There's something Zen-like to it. Yes, no blood.
S. O'BRIEN: That was something to like about it.
M. O'BRIEN: Anyway, let's...
SERWER: All right. Let's talk about some games here, you guys.
First of all, we're talking about Take 2 Interactive, which makes Grand Theft Auto, which is a highly controversial, raunchy game, and is also the best-selling video game of all time. This company has faced a lot of criticism because of the sex and violence in this game. Now they are coming out with table tennis -- Ping-Pong, the video game.
M. O'BRIEN: And if you don't like the judge's call, you kill him, right?
SERWER: No, it has nothing to do with that. It's very calm, cool and collected. But it's sort of a real departure for this company.
I think there must be a little bit of quelling the critics here, number one. Number two, I think they will -- they just think it's going to sell.
On the other hand, you know, Ping-Pong is a game you can play inside. I mean, do we really need a video game?
S. O'BRIEN: Why do they think Ping-Pong is going to sell as a video game?
SERWER: I don't know. I just kind of...
M. O'BRIEN: Pong -- come on. This goes back to the very origins of the...
S. O'BRIEN: But you get to be the players and...
SERWER: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: But still...
SERWER: Another game to tell you about also put out by this company, and maybe a little bit closer to their core values, they are coming out with a game based on "The Family Guy." Do you know this TV show?
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. We like that one.
SERWER: This show is sort of halfway between "The Simpsons" and "South Park," because -- wouldn't that be a good way to describe it?
M. O'BRIEN: Excellent -- excellent geographical positioning.
SERWER: It's right sort of in that sweet spot, you know? So, you know, they have been making these games based on movies a lot, but now TV shows. They've got a new one coming out on "24," you know, the Kiefer Sutherland TV show as well.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, yes.
SERWER: So you're seeing all this convergence in these entertainment spots.
M. O'BRIEN: So what's the game? What do they...
SERWER: I don't know. They probably hit each other over the head or curse at each other, which is what they do in the show.
M. O'BRIEN: This is what they do.
SERWER: Right. M. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome, guys.
M. O'BRIEN: All right.
Top stories are ahead. There may be a GOP deal to salvage that controversial ports deal.
A jury hears testimony in the Moussaoui sentencing trial.
A group opposed to gays in the military protest funerals of U.S. troops.
Congressman Tom DeLay facing a serious election challenge.
And we have a coffee taste test this morning. We'll see how McDonald's new brew stands up to some tried and true favorites.
Stay with us
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: As we approach the top of the hour, let's get a forecast in. Chad Myers with that.
Chad, good morning.
MYERS: Hi, Miles.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Chad.
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