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American Morning
Storm Over Ports; Roadside Blast; Church Fires Arrests; Text Message Mystery
Aired March 09, 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.
Who is going to blink first? The House defying President Bush over the controversial ports deal. They are using Katrina relief as a bargaining chip. We'll tell you about that.
Also, chilling text messages from a missing teenage girl. Now there are questions about whether or not she's really been kidnapped.
M. O'BRIEN: Authorities call it a college prank out of control. Arrests made in the Alabama church fires. Was an Internet warning missed?
Plus, bitter words in the Enron trial. The prosecution's star witness called a greedy liar as the defense gets a little more aggressive.
S. O'BRIEN: And here's something new for you on TV, polygamy. There's a new cable series about the taboo world of multiple marriages. We're going to tell you about that this morning, as well.
M. O'BRIEN: We begin this morning with a CNN "Security Watch." President Bush may have to choose between the controversial ports deal or funding the mission in Iraq and the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast after Katrina. That's because the House attached a ports amendment to an emergency spending bill.
CNN's Ed Henry with our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): After five-and-a-half years of marching in near lock step with the president, congressional Republicans are taking a tough line on one issue, the Dubai port deal. The Republican-led House Appropriations Committee voted 62 to 2 to kill the port deal. So overwhelming that it might actually be able to override a threatened presidential veto.
Over in the Senate, though, Republicans are at least holding their fire for now. Majority leader Bill Frist blocked an attempt by Democrats to vote on killing the port deal. But Democrats vow to bring it up again and again, saying Frist can run, but he can't hide.
Meanwhile, a key Republican Senator, John Warner, is desperately trying to craft a compromise; but even he acknowledged the political reality, it may be too little, too late. Warner saying, -- quote -- "I may be the last man standing."
Ed Henry, CNN Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: That same bill that would kill the ports deal also funds the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. We should get some idea what the administration thinks in about three hours from now, both Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld are making a rare joint appearance before the Senate Appropriations Committee. We're going to bring you live coverage of that at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
Turning to Iraq now, civilians killed by a bomb aimed at an Iraqi Army patrol.
Let's get right to Aneesh Raman. He is live for us in Baghdad this morning.
Aneesh, what do we know about this latest round of violence?
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Soledad, that roadside bomb detonating in the western part of the capital, a predominately Sunni neighborhood. It was, it seems, aimed at the Iraqi Army patrol that was passing by. That failed. Instead, some six civilians were killed, including a child. Seven others were wounded.
Iraqi Army patrols under constant attack by the Sunni-dominated insurgency again today. But again today as well, civilians, instead, bearing the brunt of the casualties.
Also this morning, in the upscale al Mansour area of Baghdad, two workers from the International Zone, the Green Zone that houses the U.S. military but also Iraqi government installations, were gunned down on their way to work -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Then you had this horrible report that we were telling you about yesterday, those 50 workers -- 50 workers abducted from an Iraqi security company. Do they know who is behind that attack yet -- Aneesh?
RAMAN: They know very little. Iraq's Interior Ministry has launched an investigation, but they told us that they simply don't understand how this could have happened. Initial confusion, it seems, at the scene, given that the 25 armed men were wearing Iraqi police commando uniforms, driving vehicles that looked legitimate. Police who were there who could have responded didn't because they thought it was a legitimate operation being conducted by Iraq's Interior Ministry on that private Iraqi security firm.
So there are calls again for further investigations, not just within the Interior Ministry, but elsewhere -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Aneesh Raman for us in Baghdad this morning.
Aneesh, thanks -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Those church fires in Alabama apparently started as joke, but the three college students we're about to tell you about are not laughing now. They face a bond hearing tomorrow in federal court in Birmingham charged with setting a string of church fires. The three were arrested yesterday.
CNN's Fredricka Whitfield with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Investigators reveal they have suspects, but today still no clear motive. Facing charges of arson and conspiracy, three college students, 19-year-old Ben Moseley, 19-year-old Russell DeBusk, both of Birmingham Southern College, and 20-year-old Matthew Lee Cloyd, a student at University of Alabama, Birmingham.
They allegedly burned churches south of Birmingham as a joke, say officials, but then things got out of hand. Then, authorities say as a diversion, the students moved to the western part of the state sparking fires. In all, nine churches burned.
Faith and race are not believed to be reasons. So what led to the arrests? Police say good old-fashioned police work. They noticed tire tracks at many of the church burnings. They traced them, leading them to unique, special ordered ones that led them to Cloyd's vehicle.
The students will be back in court on Friday. Pending the charges, if convicted, they could face five years in prison per church.
Fredricka Whitfield, CNN, Birmingham, Alabama.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Now a footnote to this, anonymous message sent from one suspect to another in early January found on an Internet bulletin board. Matthew Lee Cloyd, he's pictured on the right here, sent this, "2006 is here. It is time to reconvene the season of evil. May our girlfriends be concerned for our safety and may our parents be clueless." Cryptic, to say the least -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: We'll talk more about that story this morning as well. We're going to talk to a young man who knows some of those suspects.
Turning to New Jersey now, this morning police are searching for a 13-year-old girl. She's been missing since Monday. So far their only clues are a series of sort of strange text messages.
AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho has our report. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Natasha Browne left for school 8:00 a.m. Monday morning, no one, especially her parents, believed there was any reason to worry.
Then, 11:08 a.m., a mere three hours later, Natasha's mom, Stella, said she received the first of several chilling text messages -- the source, her 13-year-old daughter's cell phone.
STELLA BROWNE, MOTHER OF NATASHA BROWNE: "Help. I'm scared. I don't know where I am. I know I'm in a house. Someone was following me. And I just don't remember what happened."
CHO: "Are you serious?" mom replied. No response for more than five hours.
The next, even more chilling text message came at 4:33.
BROWNE: "He is making me do disgusting stuff I don't want to do."
CHO: By then, Stella Browne had called her husband, Natasha's father, who checked up on his daughter at school, found out she never made it there. Worried, they called police.
CHIEF ROBERT TROY, JERSEY CITY POLICE: All possible leads are being followed up on. Her disappearance is totally out of character. She's a good student, no problems with the family. Her friends are very concerned, and so are we.
CHO: Police, who have seized Natasha's computer, believe her disappearance may have something to do with someone she met on the Internet. Authorities are questioning several people but offered no other details.
CHO (on camera): Is it possible that she ran away?
BROWNE: She had no reason to. No reason at all. You know, she has everything. Not -- I'm not talking about material stuff. I'm talking about love and support.
CHO (voice-over): Still, there are many unanswered questions. On the day she vanished, Natasha apparently sent a text message to a friend telling her she wasn't at school because of a doctor's appointment. Natasha's mother told us no such appointment was ever made.
Some have asked could this be a teenage hoax?
(on camera): Do you believe her?
BROWNE: Yes and no. As for me, yes, I'm always going to think that it's, yes, something must have happened. You never know what came up. Maybe her plans backfired.
CHO (voice over): Natasha's mother told us, even if her daughter did lie to her, all is forgiven.
(on camera): What is it that you want to tell her?
BROWNE: We love her. We love her and we'll be there for her. It doesn't matter what it is. We love her.
CHO (voice over): Alina Cho, CNN, Jersey City, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: So far there have been no ransom demands and attempts to reach Natasha's cell phone now go straight into voice- mail, meaning the cell phone is off or the batteries are now dead -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Let's check the forecast now, Chad Myers at the Weather Center.
Good morning, -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Miles.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Back to you guys.
S. O'BRIEN: Bad news there.
M. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Chad.
S. O'BRIEN: A big surprise in the World Baseball Classic, Team Canada facing heavily favored Team USA.
M. O'BRIEN: Canada?
S. O'BRIEN: Team Canada.
M. O'BRIEN: They don't play baseball up there, they play hockey, right?
S. O'BRIEN: Well, apparently they do, and apparently pretty well, because Canada's lesser-known players came up with a big 8 to 6 upset, upset over their American counterparts.
M. O'BRIEN: I would say.
S. O'BRIEN: Team USA, which of course has the ever-cute Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez...
M. O'BRIEN: Cute obviously wasn't good enough.
S. O'BRIEN: Cute is not enough.
M. O'BRIEN: Not cute enough.
S. O'BRIEN: They are good looking, but they didn't win. Of course it's that sort of World Cup of Professional Baseball, matching pros from 16 nations in that round robin tournament.
Have you seen the ads for that all over the city?
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: They put them with the flags of the different countries.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, it's good. It's good. But...
S. O'BRIEN: Cute was not enough.
M. O'BRIEN: But that's kind of humiliating, if you know what I mean. All right, if we beat them in hockey...
S. O'BRIEN: Or Canada did well.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, if we beat them in hockey, they'd be upset.
All right, a bittersweet return for pro sports to New Orleans, the NBA Hornets lost to the L.A. Lakers. The score didn't really matter. What mattered is that they played at all.
What you're seeing here is beforehand they went and did some Habitat for Humanity work. Jeez, don't hit your thumb there, guys. That's not a good idea for the...
S. O'BRIEN: Not before the game.
M. O'BRIEN: ... NBA guys. I can't play. It's the first pro game to be played since this -- Katrina, of course. The real winner in all of this is the fact that it was a sellout, standing-room-only crowd. And a lot of people were wondering with the, you know, a fraction of the people back in Orleans, would that happen? They showed up.
S. O'BRIEN: It was great, wasn't it?
M. O'BRIEN: They showed up.
S. O'BRIEN: That was a really nice time.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: So what if they lost, too.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, well that's all right.
A new controversy for baseball, but it's nothing to do with steroids this time, and it's nothing to do with the Canadians, either. It's all because of some statues of a seemingly wholesome scene, a family going to the ballpark.
S. O'BRIEN: Interesting.
Also ahead this morning, Andrew Fastow. We've been talking about him for a few days now. Star witness in the Enron trial. But after what happened on Wednesday, kind of looks like this is the guy who is on trial.
M. O'BRIEN: They're doing a pretty good job trying to shift attention, aren't they?
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, they are.
M. O'BRIEN: And searching for answers in the brutal killing of a New York City graduate student. Why police think a bouncer with a dark past may have something to do with it. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: It's so nice to see how much lighter it is at 6:15 in the morning here on the East Coast now. Look at that, you could actually see Central Park. Usually we kind of...
M. O'BRIEN: It'll all be over soon.
S. O'BRIEN: I know. Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: Daylight Savings Time.
S. O'BRIEN: Mister rain on my parade, thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: You might be saving -- you people who are up later at night will be saving daylight. We won't. We will be in the darkness.
S. O'BRIEN: Good point.
M. O'BRIEN: We will suffer to make you happier.
S. O'BRIEN: Wow, mister negativity this morning.
M. O'BRIEN: I told you I wasn't on all cylinders today. I'm not feeling very good. Thursday is the roughest day.
S. O'BRIEN: I'm just going to move over here today.
M. O'BRIEN: OK.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, lots to get to this morning. Let's get right to Carol. She's got an update of our top stories this morning.
Hey, Carol, good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I have my happy pills in here for Miles, don't worry, -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you. Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: All right.
COSTELLO: Hey, good morning, everyone. We begin with a developing story out of Georgia. Investigators searching for a 4-year-old boy. Michael Simmons was last seen in Decatur. His dad left him in the car with the engine running while he ran inside a restaurant to pick up an order. Anyone with information asked to call the police.
There's been a roadside bombing in Baghdad, at least six people killed, including a child. The bomb was apparently targeting an Iraqi Army patrol, but it missed the convoy and struck a group of civilians instead.
New questions over domestic spying. According to a Justice Department report cited in "The New York Times," the FBI has found more than 100 violations in the agency's own wiretapping and intelligence gathering procedures. They include wiretaps, broader and longer than authorized, and holding suspects as material witnesses when there wasn't enough evidence to file charges.
Former Texas Governor Ann Richards is preparing for cancer treatment. She's been diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus. Her doctors are now reviewing test results to determine how advanced that cancer is.
And spring, it's just around the corner. But take a look at this, Washington State is getting a little late-winter storm. Eleven inches of snow fell in parts of the state. And a blizzard warning for north and central Oregon. It's likely to be in effect for another hour or two. The Oregon Department of Transportation warning drivers to be extra, extra careful. This is the last blast in March for them, at least I hope so -- Chad.
MYERS: No.
COSTELLO: No.
MYERS: I'm sorry.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Back to you guys.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, appreciate it.
I heard Google.
M. O'BRIEN: Google.
S. O'BRIEN: We're going to be talking about business news now this morning.
M. O'BRIEN: I was giving my preview.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, as you guys are having your own conversation about business news.
M. O'BRIEN: That's my little preview. I like it. CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad is writing, we're just talking between ourselves.
S. O'BRIEN: What's happening in Google?
LEE: Well there's a new term, a new vocabulary term we should be familiar with here, I guess, today, it's called click fraud.
Now this is a lawsuit that was settled by Google, brought on by a retailing company called Lanes Gift's and Collectibles. The lawsuit claimed Google and other Internet companies, including Yahoo!, knowingly overcharged advertisers and conspired to continue doing so. The suit alleged click fraud, and that term means that ads on Web sites were clicked on repeatedly to drive up the cost of those ads.
Now it doesn't say that Google actually did this but that they allowed it to happen and didn't do anything to stop it.
Of course Google and other Internet sites base the price of an ad based on the number of clicks. So the more popular an ad is, the more clicks they get, well the higher the price can go. So you can see how this can happen.
Now Google says the settlement will not exceed $90 million. They are also going to have to give some credit to new ads. They don't admit wrongdoing, nor do they have to disclose further details of their ad system. It's just another wrinkle in this whole, you know, Internet advertising industry.
M. O'BRIEN: So the Google worm has turned a little bit, hasn't it?
S. O'BRIEN: No, it hasn't.
LEE: Well...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: They've had a couple of rough weeks, a couple missteps.
M. O'BRIEN: They have.
LEE: Their stock has come down a little bit. But, yes, the chief financial officer said things are slowing. They had that mishap and its meeting with analysts earlier this week talking about financial targets. That was a mistake.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it's been a rough couple weeks.
LEE: Yes, but, you know, the company is...
(CROSSTALK)
M. O'BRIEN: And...
S. O'BRIEN: Was the stock three -- what was it?
LEE: It's only 300 and, I don't know, 70, something like that.
S. O'BRIEN: Sixty, whatever. Right.
M. O'BRIEN: Big loss. A big loss.
LEE: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: But I imagine this boiler room somewhere with people just going click, click, click, click, click, click, click, you know.
LEE: Exactly. And there are software programs that actually do that automatically, too.
M. O'BRIEN: There are.
LEE: So you can see all the intricacies behind the scenes here.
A quick story from "The Wall Street Journal" as well, the Delphi, GM and the UAW getting closer to an agreement on the broad points of a deal. Delphi, UAW leaders meeting in Detroit next week, that's the plan anyway.
Two main ideas: there's a settlement offer here, could offer buyouts to older GM workers and buydowns of other workers, basically giving them cash, $25,000 to $50,000, in return for accepting lower wages and benefits down the road. It'll be interesting to see if it works. And maybe other big auto will follow.
S. O'BRIEN: Right.
All right, Carrie, thank you very much.
LEE: OK.
S. O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.
M. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Carrie.
Do you smell that, "Morning Coffee?" I smell "Morning Coffee."
Carol, what have you got.
S. O'BRIEN: "Morning Coffee."
COSTELLO: I smell it, too, I do. I have it right here.
Coming up, what is so controversial about some statues of a nice family going to the ballgame? Plus, we will look at a lawsuit that's being called Row v. Wade for Men. You ladies are going to be steamed by this one. We'll pour your "Morning Coffee" straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JAY LENO, HOST, "TONIGHT SHOW": President Bush arrived in New Orleans today. When he landed, he stunned the crowd when he said what happened? In fact, when he saw how bad the damage was, he put a million-dollar bounty on Katrina. Yes, he said, we will get her.
I tell you, Bush didn't help himself any, when he was introduced to Mayor Ray Nagin, he said hey, Montel Williams, what, are you doing the show down here? Good to see you. Yes, see what I'm saying, he had no idea. You know apparently he thought Montel was down there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said the same thing to me, man.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: That was pretty good.
COSTELLO: It was awesome.
M. O'BRIEN: That's good stuff.
S. O'BRIEN: That was one of the better ones.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. That's funny.
COSTELLO: I don't think I could match that, however, but I'm going to try.
M. O'BRIEN: Tough act to follow.
S. O'BRIEN: It's tough to follow, yes.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: It really is.
Time for "Morning Coffee."
The National Center for Men calling it Roe v. Wade for Men. It will file a lawsuit today. Allow me to explain. The suit contends that women have choices in the event of an unwanted pregnancy, you know, you could keep the baby, give the baby up for adoption, abortion.
I know what you're thinking, but you'd be wrong. It's not that these men want to have a say, it's that they don't want to pay child support. They want to be able to opt out of a financial responsibility in those cases. Of course maybe you think they opted out when they decided to do the nasty in the first place.
Interesting, isn't it?
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: We'll be following that lawsuit.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: Take a look at this set of statues. It was meant to be a gift from the owner of the -- of Portland's Minor League Baseball team. Those are nice statues. It's a little family going to the baseball game. But these -- actually they're huge, they're 11 feet tall. They are causing a bit of controversy in Maine.
And Portland's Public Arts Committee doesn't see it as a nice gesture. In fact, one committee member says, hey, we already have enough white people on pedestals. And that comment...
S. O'BRIEN: Oops.
COSTELLO: I know. That comment in reference to existing statues of writer Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and the legendary director John Ford, both of whom are white.
S. O'BRIEN: They don't -- they think that this -- because -- the controversy is because they are statues of white people going to the baseball game as opposed to, like, black people or Asian people or Hispanic people?
COSTELLO: Or -- exactly. And the makers of the statue say, like, you can't tell what race they are. That they look...
S. O'BRIEN: I actually thought one of them looked like a black person.
M. O'BRIEN: They look bronze. Yes, I mean...
COSTELLO: Really?
S. O'BRIEN: I did.
M. O'BRIEN: What did you think?
S. O'BRIEN: I thought one was a -- I thought actually the controversy was going to be the little black person on the statue.
M. O'BRIEN: Could be anything.
COSTELLO: No, it's like...
S. O'BRIEN: Show those pictures again.
COSTELLO: Yes, see.
S. O'BRIEN: OK.
M. O'BRIEN: Could be.
S. O'BRIEN: Thought (ph) maybe.
M. O'BRIEN: Could be anything. Anything.
COSTELLO: Could be, who knows, but according to the Public Arts Commission, they...
S. O'BRIEN: OK, black guy right there.
COSTELLO: Yes, I know, I don't know. The Public Arts Commission in Maine, though, says this is a white family and they do not want these statues erected outside of the ballpark.
S. O'BRIEN: So those people need more to do. They seriously...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, wow.
S. O'BRIEN: Isn't there a pothole to be filled somewhere or...
M. O'BRIEN: Somewhere.
S. O'BRIEN: ... like some.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: Speaking of more to do, we have great videotape for you, applying makeup while driving. It is a common scene, as you know. We've seen it before.
S. O'BRIEN: Done it.
COSTELLO: But now, situation...
S. O'BRIEN: My God.
COSTELLO: Look at this woman.
M. O'BRIEN: What is she doing?
COSTELLO: Check it out. This is from the U.K. This picture was captured by police monitoring the road for speeders.
S. O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE) right.
COSTELLO: She's a 22-year-old woman. And look there, she has no hands on the steering wheel. She's driving with her knees, apparently.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: And she's applying makeup of some sort.
M. O'BRIEN: Whoa.
COSTELLO: Lip gloss.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. COSTELLO: Or something like that.
M. O'BRIEN: So.
COSTELLO: Anyway, see the police officers are monitoring those cameras. And guess what, they caught her on tape. And even though they were looking for speeders, they decided to cite her anyway. They ticketed her and she got a $340 fine and points on her license.
S. O'BRIEN: My God.
COSTELLO: Isn't that something else. You see that all the time, though, don't you, here?
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, but you know I've done it, but like stopped at a light doing mascara in the rear view mirror, but like not actual driving.
COSTELLO: I've seen crazy things while people are driving,...
M. O'BRIEN: Right.
COSTELLO: ... because you know I have that hour-and-10-minute commute, so you see a lot of crazy things. I've seen people shaving. Men with shavers driving.
M. O'BRIEN: With the phone in the ear, yes.
COSTELLO: That's crazy.
S. O'BRIEN: That is...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes.
COSTELLO: So there you have it.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Carol, thank you.
We've got a look at the top stories straight ahead this morning.
Plus, a new honor for Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, puts her in the same company as a famous, or maybe we should say infamous, supermodel. We'll explain just ahead.
Plus, the TV show that some critics think is trying to give polygamy a good name. My goodness.
We're going to explain all of this just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
COSTELLO: Why is it that women can't have more than one husband?
S. O'BRIEN: Who wants more than one husband?
COSTELLO: I don't, but I'm just saying.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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