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American Morning

Deadly Storms; War Speeches; Saddam Hussein on Trial; Milosevic Autopsy; Student Slain

Aired March 13, 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 Monday morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

Bad weather and it is moving eastward. Deadly twisters have killed five people in the Midwest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole house was shaking and the wind was nuts. And looked outside and there was just debris going all around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Selling an unpopular war. President Bush has a new strategy to try to change America's feelings about Iraq.

S. O'BRIEN: A New York graduate student brutally murdered. Now officials are pointing the finger at bar bouncer Darryl Littlejohn.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Littlejohn is the prime suspect in this case, and his indictment will be sought for the murder of Imette St. Guillen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: The Saddam Hussein trial. Saddam's half-brother and co-defendant admits he issued death warrants for 148 people.

And Dubai would like to polish its image post-port deal with who else, Oprah.

S. O'BRIEN: Strange, but true.

Let's get right to the severe weather we've been talking about battering the Midwest this morning. In Missouri, deadly tornadoes cut a wide path of destruction. At least five people were killed there on Sunday. One tornado touched down for 20 miles, just ripping through towns, destroying homes.

Much more of the same in Illinois to tell you about, twisters there hit the capital, Springfield, with a one-two punch late last night and then early this morning. At least 19 people were injured. At least one person is still missing.

Power is out and several roofs, as you can see right there, just ripped off of buildings. Classes are cancelled today at the University of Kansas where 60 percent of the buildings at Lawrence campus have been damaged. Hail the size of baseballs shattered windows throughout southern parts of the state.

Severe weather expert Chad Myers is at the CNN Center for us this morning.

Hey, Chad, good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: What an ugly, ugly weekend for some folks.

S. O'BRIEN: The pictures. Yes.

MYERS: Good morning, Soledad.

Yes. This storm is really fired up along the same line now that's moving weather into Detroit. Still have red boxes here. Tornado watch boxes are still in effect this morning. The potential for strong weather still exists at this hour.

Watch this storm, a couple of the storms, as they just ripped right on by. That was one. It was a super cell way ahead of the line and that's the one that actually ran right through Springfield and right up into parts of Indiana.

Over 100 reports of tornadoes yesterday alone. A typical year in North America will have around 1,000 tornadoes reported. It was 10 percent of the entire year day yesterday, and there were 16 the day before that. So you get the idea, the strong weather still with us. As we kind of give you a map, show you where all of these little dark maroon dots are, every dot a tornado report.

Now some of the tornadoes, in fact, may be the same tornado seen by two different people from two different angles reported as two tornadoes and they may only be one. So those numbers may not be quite that high. We'll see.

Soledad, back to you.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, we're watching it.

Thanks, -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

Texas now, massive and deadly wildfires are still burning out of control this morning in the northern panhandle. At least six people there are reported dead, four of them in a nine-car pileup that's blamed on drivers who were blinded by the smoke from the fires. Two other victims killed while trying to get away from their burning home.

Fires have already scorched at least 300,000 acres of grassland. Fire officials say tens of thousands more could burn before crews are able to get these fires under control -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: A leading liberal in the U.S. Senate says President Bush broke the law and should be censured. Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin says the president stepped out of bounds by eavesdropping on Americans without warrants.

Today, the president will begin trying to turn the tide of anti- war sentiment in America. He plans a series of speeches tied to the third anniversary of the Iraq invasion.

White House correspondent Elaine Quijano is following the administration's strategy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Today, President Bush will once again lay out his Iraq strategy. He is set to deliver the first in a series of speeches this month as the three-year anniversary of the start of the Iraq war approaches.

Now aides say that his remarks today will focus on the issue of security and also the problem of IEDs, or improvised explosive devices. Now with a recent uptick in violence, aides say they know those images are troubling. So these speeches are also an opportunity, they hope, to show the president is not out of touch.

At the same time, aides also say providing context is critical. As one senior administration official put it, a person can be unsatisfied but still have a better understanding of what is happening.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: CNN will have live coverage of the president's speech. It begins at 1:15 Eastern Time this afternoon.

One of the defendants in the trial of Saddam Hussein today freely admitted ordering the deaths of more than 140 people.

Arwa Damon live in Baghdad now. This is, obviously, significant testimony -- Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

Good morning, Miles.

Today's testimony is significant, because it does raise a number of points. Now Awad Bander is the -- was the former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court that issued those deaths warrants. And he is saying that all of those who were sentenced to death confessed not only to the attempted assassination against former President Saddam Hussein, but that they also confessed that their orders came from Iran. Now the prosecution is calling this trial imaginary. He is saying that the accused did not even appear in court and is also seeking to prove that some of those who were sentenced to death were minors, something that is of course illegal under international law. And is also trying to prove that the regime went after the entire civilian population of the town of Dujail.

Of course Bander is saying that that is not correct, that that was not the case, that it was a fair and just trial that took place back in 1984 -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Arwa, when will Saddam Hussein take the stand?

DAMON: Well so far -- and this new phase of the trial did start on Sunday. It started yesterday. We are seeing all of the defendants coming out one by one. So far we have heard from five of Saddam's co- defendants. Now if the trial does proceed on schedule, we're expecting to hear from Saddam Hussein himself tomorrow -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Arwa Damon in Baghdad, thank you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: The remains of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic are being released to his family today. Preliminary autopsy results indicate that Milosevic died of a heart attack on Saturday in his cell in the Netherlands. There's already, though, a dispute brewing over just what was exactly to blame for his death.

Correspondent Paula Newton is live in The Hague for us this morning where Milosevic was on trial for war crimes.

Hey, Paula, good morning.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Soledad.

You know you would think when you get a result like that someone died of a heart attack you would assume it was of natural causes. Right now, with the controversy brewing here, nothing is being taken for granted. They are awaiting results of a blood test and that blood test will show exactly what was in Milosevic's bloodstream when he died.

But some explosive new allegations this morning coming out from a Dutch doctor, saying that, look, I tested Milosevic's blood two weeks ago, there was a very, very strong antibiotic in his bloodstream that they say Milosevic took on purpose in order to make sure his heart medication wasn't working. And they say that would have allowed him to continue to interrupt the trial and that would have allowed him, perhaps, to have a better case for going to seek treatment in Russia, and that's where he desperately wanted to go -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: And not just controversy, Paula, over what exactly was the cause, also controversy over where Milosevic should be buried.

NEWTON: Well can you imagine this, Soledad, they are trying to release the body. The Tribunal wants to release the body to the family. The family still not knowing where to take his body. The controversy is should it be taken to Serbia, where he will be buried, or to Russia. His family's preference is definitely Serbia. But if his widow sets foot in Serbia, she will be arrested. There is an arrest warrant out for her.

We understand her lawyers were in court this morning in Serbia to see if they could get that arrest warrant lifted. If they can, it is believed that his body would go to Serbia, but that still all remains in doubt. You know a lot of confusion here over exactly just what to do with the autopsy results and with his remains.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, and a lot of big ifs. All right.

Paula Newton for us this morning at The Hague.

Paula, thanks.

Here is a story, a follow-up, really, on a story that's been shocking New York, making all the local papers' headlines for the past couple of weeks now. Police say they are ready to move against their prime suspect in the brutal killing of Imette St. Guillen. The 24- year-old graduate student was found dead, naked, bound and gagged in an abandoned lot. Investigators say they now have forensic evidence that links a bouncer in a bar to her death.

CNN's Allan Chernoff has the latest for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Brooklyn's district attorney, as early as today, will be asking a grand jury to hand up an indictment against Darryl Littlejohn in the rape and murder of grad student Imette St. Guillen.

Littlejohn is a bouncer at The Falls, a bar in SoHo, the last place that St. Guillen was seen before her body was found in an abandoned lot in eastern New York. Her body was wrapped in a bedspread, her hands and legs tied up and her face taped from forehead down to the chin.

Police say that blood found on the plastic ties that were wrapped around St. Guillen's wrists in fact is the blood of Littlejohn. Police also say his cell phone was tracked to the vicinity of the body the night of the murder.

Littlejohn currently is at Rikers Island jail on a parole violation. He served time for armed robbery.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Well they are picking up the pieces this morning in the Midwest, and they are assessing the damage after some wild weather yesterday. Ahead, we'll get the latest from an emergency official who is on the scene. S. O'BRIEN: Also, Andrew Fastow is back in the hot seat at the Enron trial. We're going to tell you what he's expected to face today.

M. O'BRIEN: There is Fastow.

And then let's move the video to the next item. We'll tell you -- there you go -- why the people behind that Dubai port deal want to jump the couch. Will Oprah take her show on the road to the Emirates? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: That is positively inspirational. Midtown Manhattan, sunrise, another week awaits you.

S. O'BRIEN: Very foggy, too. Central Park covered in fog. And the people who were driving in, commuting in today couldn't see a thing.

M. O'BRIEN: Woke up in a cloud this morning. Twenty floors up, nothing but cloud.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it's crazy.

M. O'BRIEN: Nothing but cloud.

S. O'BRIEN: I thought you meant woke up in a cloud.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, again, in so many ways I'm in a cloud.

S. O'BRIEN: I hear you and I'm with you.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get to some of our top stories this morning. Carol has got those. She's in the newsroom.

Hey, -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.

Saddam Hussein's trial picks up again in Baghdad without him. We could see the former dictator, though, on the stand as early as tomorrow. Now earlier, the panel heard from a former judge from Saddam's regime. He says he sentenced more than 140 Shiites to death in the 1980s but insists they were given a fair trial.

Democratic Senator Russ Feingold says President Bush has broken the law and must be held accountable over his domestic spying program. Now remember, Senator Feingold might be running for president next time around in 2008. He is expected to introduce his legislation today. Calls for censuring the president for authorizing the wiretaps. Senator Feingold will be our guest on AMERICAN MORNING in the next hour. Drivers feeling that pain at the pump again. But do I need to tell you this, gas prices jumped nearly 11 cents over the past two weeks to an average of $2.35 a gallon. Prices are the lowest in Newark, New Jersey at $2.15. That's according to figures from the Lundberg Survey. The highest gas of course in Honolulu at $2.63.

Out-of-control wildfires in the Texas panhandle and the south plains have destroyed more than 300,000 acres. At least six deaths are being blamed on the smoke and haze. Firefighters say fast winds are fanning the flames.

So let's see if those winds are dying down. Let's head down to Atlanta and Chad.

Good morning.

MYERS: Good morning, Carol.

They do die down a little bit this afternoon. Right now they are still 20 to 25 miles per hour, but they lay down to about 10 to 15 later on.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Back to you guys.

M. O'BRIEN: Thanks.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Chad, appreciate that.

A wild weekend of weather through the Midwest. Kansas, Missouri and Illinois all experiencing severe thunderstorms, in many cases, tornadoes, and at least five people are dead as a result. Countless homes destroyed and power is out through many parts of the Midwest.

Pettis County, Missouri, about 70 miles east of Kansas City, hard hit.

Rusty Kahrs is the presiding commissioner in Pettis County. At least three tornadoes touched down there.

Mr. Kahrs, good to have you with us. I know you're real busy. Not first light yet, but I know you had a quick chance to take a look at some of the damage yesterday afternoon before sunset. What can you tell us?

RUSTY KAHRS, PETTIS CO. PRESIDING COMMISSIONER: Well, that's correct. Yesterday at about 10 after 4 we had a tornado go through the southern portion of Pettis County. It was a large tornado. It cut a swath. It was about over 20 miles long and at least a half to three-quarters of a mil wide throughout the county from west to east. We've had over a hundred homes and businesses that were either severely damaged or destroyed, displacing between 100 and 150 families in our community. M. O'BRIEN: Tell us about injuries and deaths in Pettis County.

KAHRS: We -- it was unfortunate, we did have one fatality and we had six injuries. You know it's -- while we say that's unfortunate, the severity of this storm, we were actually very lucky that our storm's plotters are in communication with a special group of folks. They did a terrific job of getting early warnings out and the notification was made.

We've got to hand it to the local media as well that helped us get the word out. And you know we definitely want to credit those few agencies with saving lives here in our community.

M. O'BRIEN: What can you tell us about the woman who died, what happened?

KAHRS: She was a white female in her 30s. And she actually was in a trailer home. She was exiting the trailer home when the storm struck. And she was killed as a result of that.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. And widespread power outages this morning in Pettis County?

KAHRS: Widespread power outages. We have power out in the north and the southern sections of Pettis County. And I know the power crews are out there working diligently to try to get power restored as quickly as possible.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

Chad Myers, you with us?

MYERS: Yes. I do, I have a question for you.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

MYERS: Have you been in contact at all with the Weather Service to find out what they think the size of the storm is?

KAHRS: Preliminary reports indicate that this storm, this tornado, the one that did the most damage in southern Pettis County, was at least an F2 and in some places rose to a level of F5.

MYERS: Wow!

KAHRS: And those, again, are preliminary reports; but, yes, a significant storm.

MYERS: That's well in excess of 200 miles per hour when you get up to that big. And that certainly...

KAHRS: It's not fun to be in.

MYERS: No, absolutely not.

Thank you. Good work this morning. And stay with us. We'll get back to you later on in the day. Appreciate that.

KAHRS: OK, thank you guys.

M. O'BRIEN: Mr. Kahrs, before you get away, one quick thing, did you have much warning? Did you get either weather radio warnings or sirens, that kind of thing?

KAHRS: Yes, we had plenty of time to activate the sirens. And of course this is in a rural portion of the community, so a lot of those folks out there don't have sirens. And you know we try to educate them to listen to our local radio stations whenever bad weather approaches.

You know we're a little early in the season for storms like this, but you know, obviously, we had one fatality and six injuries. The path that this storm cut through, you know, it could have been a lot worse. So there was plenty of notice and, obviously, the warning systems did their job and worked. So we're very pleased with that. Even though we're extremely disappointed that we had one fatality, we know that it could have been much worse.

M. O'BRIEN: Rusty Kahrs, who is the presiding commissioner of Pettis County, Missouri, thanks for being with us.

Get a weather radio if you're in that part of the world.

S. O'BRIEN: That videotape, man.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Just gone.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Just absolutely obliterated.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: That is tough.

Let's turn and talk about business news. Executives in the United Arab Emirates, we've been talking about them a lot, of course, with this ports deal. Now they want the Big O.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Who doesn't want the Big O? When -- who are you going to call when you're in trouble but Oprah? We're going to do that story in one second, Soledad.

First, we want to tell you a story about automakers. You know you've heard stories like this before, U.S. automakers contract while Asian automakers continue to expand.

This morning we learn that Kia Motors, which is Korea's second largest automaker after Hyundai, plans to open up a factory in the United States, its first. It will be in West Point, Georgia. Slated to open its doors in 2009. They will be making about 300,000 vehicles a year and employing 2,500 autoworkers. So good news for folks down there looking for some work. And Hyundai has a facility in Alabama.

M. O'BRIEN: You know we were talking about how global the automobile industry is. It really isn't just a Korean product anymore, that kind of thing, you know?

SERWER: That's right. And you know they are selling cars in Europe. They are selling cars in Asia. And they are selling more and more cars here.

S. O'BRIEN: Are they good cars, the Kias?

SERWER: Yes, they are pretty good cars. You know we have to check out "Consumer Reports" to see how they rank versus Ford and GM. But, yes, they are selling more and more of them. They are up 15 percent this year, so.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow!

SERWER: And now let's talk about Oprah, though, because this is an interesting story. A trade group of U.S. executives doing business in the Emirates plans to invite Oprah Winfrey to do her show in that part of the world in that nation. This is an organization called the American Business Group of Abu Dhabi, which includes 500 executives, including executives from Exxon and Boeing, so these are Americans, plan to ask Oprah to do her show there to show the United States that the Emirates is a good place in which to do business and do trade.

And so far there is no comment from Oprah or Harpo productions, but that's going to be interesting when that statement comes out, because she's got to respond. And maybe she'll do it. Who knows?

M. O'BRIEN: I don't know if that's her demo, but just a thought.

SERWER: But you know it could be good for ratings, right?

S. O'BRIEN: Who's in the audience?

SERWER: I don't know. I mean it'll -- you know, it'll be interesting to see.

M. O'BRIEN: You know I don't think Tom Cruise is over there, put it that way. It's not the...

SERWER: Wolf is sometimes, right?

S. O'BRIEN: It could be anybody. Anybody could be flown in.

SERWER: Yes...

S. O'BRIEN: You know what...

M. O'BRIEN: Anybody can be.

S. O'BRIEN: And if anybody can fly them in, it's Oprah.

SERWER: Yes. M. O'BRIEN: Yes, there you go.

S. O'BRIEN: Interesting.

SERWER: Yes.

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

M. O'BRIEN: We'll see.

SERWER: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, let's get some headlines in. Carol Costello, good -- actually, not headlines, how about "Morning Coffee" time? What's going on?

COSTELLO: It is time for some fun, Miles. It is time for "Morning Coffee" coming up. You've probably heard enough Dick Cheney hunting jokes to last a lifetime, but when the president roasts his own V.P., now that's funny. That story is coming your way next on "Morning Coffee."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: My kids like it. Yes, they like that...

COSTELLO: Miles actually knew this song.

M. O'BRIEN: I actually knew that one.

S. O'BRIEN: And the lead singer is and he's dating?

M. O'BRIEN: God, now you're getting way deep into pop culture now.

COSTELLO: No, allegedly.

S. O'BRIEN: Allegedly, sorry.

M. O'BRIEN: OK.

S. O'BRIEN: I didn't say his name so I guess I don't have to say allegedly.

COSTELLO: Adam Levine and allegedly he's been seeing Jessica Simpson.

S. O'BRIEN: Jessica Simpson. A little gossip break this morning.

M. O'BRIEN: These boots are made for walking there.

COSTELLO: They certainly are.

(CROSSTALK)

M. O'BRIEN: Kind of jealous of that fellow, if you know what I mean? I'm maroon with envy, if you know what I mean?

COSTELLO: I think...

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: ... it's time to move on.

S. O'BRIEN: Enough, please, I'm begging.

COSTELLO: It's time for "Morning Coffee."

A few presidential jokes with your cup of Joe this morning. The press in Washington throws this roast for politicos every year. It's called the Gridiron. This year the man front and center, Dick Cheney.

His boss, President Bush, was right on target, too, roasting Mr. Cheney over that famous, or infamous, I should say, hunting accident. A sample of the jokes. The president said, the vice president's full name is Richard B. Cheney. The B, of course, stands for bull's eye. Mr. Bush then joked the media blew the...

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, that's kind of lame, by the way. That was not good. Yes.

COSTELLO: I know. Well, you know, he tried.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

COSTELLO: Anyway, Mr. Bush went on. He then joked the media blew the whole thing out of proportion. Good lord, the president said, you'd thought he'd shot someone or something.

It's not...

M. O'BRIEN: I guess you had to be there. You had to be there, right?

COSTELLO: I know, but wasn't it interesting that he's joking about it, even for that?

S. O'BRIEN: Being mocked by your boss is never a good thing.

COSTELLO: No, especially over a hunting accident that you know really hurt someone.

Any who, moving on, you know March Madness begins tomorrow. And if you didn't think...

M. O'BRIEN: And I immediately think of "The Wall Street Journal" when I think of March Madness.

COSTELLO: I know. I know this is really interesting.

S. O'BRIEN: What does "The Journal" think about March Madness this year, Miles?

COSTELLO: Well this is what "The Journal" is saying about March Madness.

S. O'BRIEN: The centerfold.

COSTELLO: I know, it's got all the brackets. Isn't that huge?

And it's got some interesting factoids as well. You don't really need to show the details there. But the factoids are, in case you're going to be joining the office pool tomorrow, because that's the last day you can get them in. This is interesting. Most titles, UCLA had 11, Kentucky 7, Indiana 5, North Carolina 4, Duke 3. With 2, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan -- Michigan State of course -- North Carolina State, Oklahoma State and San Francisco.

M. O'BRIEN: There you go.

COSTELLO: There you go. Can I just show this picture? We must. We just must show this picture. I know that I have to go.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh my!

M. O'BRIEN: What is that?

COSTELLO: But take a look.

S. O'BRIEN: That's Melania Trump.

COSTELLO: This is Melania Trump posing seven months pregnant on this big plane. And this is her husband, The Donald, in a $600,000 Mercedes. This is going to be in a national magazine.

S. O'BRIEN: Can I see this? Is she naked?

COSTELLO: Pretty much.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Wow!

COSTELLO: She has a bathing suit top on. But they're talking about how they're going to raise their child in a very grounded way as Donald Trump is sitting in a $600,000 Mercedes. And Donald said that he was glad they used a wind machine because it proved he wasn't wearing a toupee.

S. O'BRIEN: They plan to be strict, but not too strict, and grounded, very grounded.

M. O'BRIEN: Grounded.

COSTELLO: There you go.

M. O'BRIEN: OK. All right. Grounded it is.

The morning's top stories are straight ahead, including cleaning up the mess in the Midwest, trees ripped down, damaging hail, tornadoes. Report from one of the hard hit areas coming up.

And President Bush hoping to convince Americans progress being made in Iraq. What would you like to hear from the president?

Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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