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American Morning

British Bomb Plot; 'Sleepless in America'

Aired March 22, 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: A suspected al Qaeda terrorist on trial in Britain over a possible plot to bomb nightclubs and trains. We're going to take you live to London for the latest on this story.
A tragic accident on the Gulf Coast. Demolition workers killed in the collapse of a hurricane-damaged casino barge.

And coping with insomnia. We're going to take a look at all those restless nights in our continuing series, "Sleepless in America."

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And, you know, working a shift like this, you become somewhat sleep obsessed. And you got, what, four hours yesterday?

O'BRIEN: Yes. I don't get a lot of sleep.

ROBERTS: And that was in a car?

O'BRIEN: Yes. I never -- you know, but I never have the issue of insomnia. I would love to have a long time to sleep. Do you ever have insomnia?

ROBERTS: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Really?

ROBERTS: Usually at the most critical time that I need to get sleep, as well. It's usually because you're worried about trying to get enough sleep.

O'BRIEN: Yes. It will be interesting to hear this woman's tips on how to treat that problem...

ROBERTS: Looking forward to that.

O'BRIEN: ... without medication.

ROBERTS: Absolutely.

O'BRIEN: First, though, a look at some of our top stories. Carol's got that. She's in the newsroom.

Hey, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I do. I'm just adjusting my microphone here. O'BRIEN: Go for it.

COSTELLO: Good morning, everyone.

In Iraq, I'm sorry to tell you, another deadly attack on a police station. A police official says insurgent gunmen attacked with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. At least four police officers killed in this attack. Iraqi commando units responded and did arrest 50 suspected insurgents.

The attack comes one day after an attack on a police station north of Baghdad that killed at least 15 police officers. And they managed to free more than 30 prisoners. The insurgents did, that is.

An Army dog handler convicted of tormenting prisoners at Abu Ghraib faces a sentencing hearing today. Sergeant Michael Smith was found guilty at a court-martial Tuesday, charged with letting his snarling dog mistreat prisoners. The charges carry a possible penalty of up to eight and a half years behind bars.

Running away from sheriff's deputies is usually a bad idea. Well, it was a fatal mistake for a man in Dallas County in Texas. He tried to run away after a routine traffic stop for an expired registration sticker on his truck. In the darkness, he fell into a mud hole in the rain-soaked field. He died before deputies could pull him out of the mud.

Prosecutors in Austin, Texas, will try to persuade an appeals court to reinstate some criminal charges against Congressman Tom DeLay. In December, a judge threw out conspiracy and money laundering charges against the former House majority leader. Despite the indictment, DeLay is trying to win reelection to Congress. He blames the case on politics.

And singer Gloria Estefan is donating $1 million to the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. Estefan herself was temporarily paralyzed after a tour bus accident 16 years ago. Remember, she broke her back, but she recovered after an operation where titanium rods were inserted.

The money will go toward setting up a human clinical trials program. So that's pretty darn generous.

John, back to you.

ROBERTS: It certainly is. I remember I was working in Miami at the time when she had that bus accident in Pennsylvania.

COSTELLO: Oh, scary.

ROBERTS: So good for her to do that. Thanks very much, Carol.

A new admission from President Bush. He hinted in a news conference on Tuesday that U.S. troops could remain in Iraq through the end of his term, at least until 19 -- at least until 2009. Later, I spoke with Democratic Congressman John Murtha and asked what he thought about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: I don't know how to believe this president or this administration. There's been so much mischaracterization, so many misstatements, so -- it's just on and on and on, the rhetoric versus the reality. And it's just so confusing.

I don't have a clue who's accurate. They have not been accurate about anything they predicted so far. So I have -- they have very little credibility.

The American public is way ahead of them. The news media is away ahead of them. And members of Congress are finally getting there.

ROBERTS: President Bush also insisted today in response to a question that Iraq is not in the throes of a civil war. That would be another point that you two seem to disagree on.

MURTHA: John, I mean, first of all, it was dead-enders. Then it was -- then it was no insurgency. Then it was, OK, it's secular violence.

There's no difference between secular violence and a civil war. A civil war is defined as two factions inside a country fighting for supremacy.

Allawi, their guy, says it's a civil war. I believe it's a civil war. And I believe that it's Iraqis -- 25,000 Iraqis fighting with each other for supremacy. And there's a very small number of foreign fighters.

They keep interchanging terrorism with what's going on. This is not a fight against terrorism in Iraq. There are terrorist tactics. It's Iraqis fighting each other and we're caught in between. Our troops are the targets of the Iraqi people and the al Qaeda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Of course Congressman Murtha first made headlines late last fall when he suggested that American troops should be re-deployed outside of Iraq and the security situation inside that country left to Iraqi forces.

My interview with Congressman Murtha first appeared on "ANDERSON COOPER 360," which airs weeknights at 10:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

O'BRIEN: Seven suspected terrorists are on trial right now in London. They're accused of planning an al Qaeda bombing of clubs and pubs and trains.

Paula Newton's live for us in London this morning.

Hey, Paula. Good morning.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Soledad. Good morning to you.

Right now, the prosecution is in court spelling out the details of what they claim is a terrorist cell that had motive and the means to bomb significant targets here in Britain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON (voice over): It was called Operation Crevice, and British prosecutors claim it cracked an al Qaeda-inspired scheme that was hatched in northern Pakistan and was supposed to reek havoc on the streets of London. Authorities refer to it as the "British bomb plot."

On trial now, seven British suspects charged with conspiracy to commit terrorist acts. They were arrested in 2004 and 2005 after an international surveillance operation that prosecutors claim foiled a plan to bomb London nightclubs, pubs or even trains.

MARK BECKFORD, CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY: Obviously, it comes since -- it's the first really big case since the July 7 bombings of last year which -- which really, you know, shook Britain. So this is a -- it's a hugely significant case.

NEWTON: Prosecutors claim there were years of planning that began in Pakistan with explosives training. The instruments were crude. Prosecutors allege the suspects were taught all they needed to manufacture successful bombs with ammonium nitrate, aluminum powder and a detonator.

The bigger challenge, according to prosecutors, was how to smuggle it all into London. Police say they found more than half a ton of ammonium nitrate fertilizer intended for bombs when six of the suspects were arrested in March 2004. And in opening statements, they alluded to the motive.

According to prosecutors, the suspects decided "the U.K. was unscathed, and it needed to be hit because of its support for the U.S." And the prosecution claims a senior al Qaeda commander endorsed the plot.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: And Soledad, British authorities here are hoping that if they can prove the evidence in this case it will serve as a valuable step-by-step assessment on how homegrown terrorist cells are born and how they operate -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Paula, tell us a little bit about one of the main witnesses. It's a U.S. citizen from New York. Can you tell us about him?

NEWTON: Yes, Mohammed Babaar (ph). He really is described in this case as an accomplice.

He has turned what we would call in the United States state's evidence. And he will be here in Britain, he'll be testifying tomorrow, could be on the stand for about a month.

What is interesting here is that the police have puzzled -- have put the whole puzzle together using Mohammed Babaar (p) to really corroborate on a lot of the evidence they have already gathered. What's really interesting in this case, Soledad, is the fact that how this cell here in Britain used accomplices in the United States, in Pakistan, even in Canada, to put this whole project together and at what point they decided to take that outside of Pakistan and Afghanistan and bring it right here into Britain -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: I'm sure his testimony will be absolutely fascinating.

Paula Newton for us this morning.

Paula, thanks.

At 38 minutes past the hour, it's time for a check of the forecast. Reynolds Wolf has that. He's in for Chad, who just couldn't take it. Just couldn't hack it anymore, all the severe weather.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I know. I know. I can't figure it out. He'll be back, though, with his batteries recharged. He'll be ready to go.

O'BRIEN: All right. All right. Good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: All right. Thanks.

ROBERTS: All right. Thanks very much. Chad just couldn't stand the abuse. We'll see how long Reynolds lasts.

O'BRIEN: It's only two days into spring and he just couldn't hack it.

ROBERTS: Coming up, a new twist in the case of a teacher accused of having sex with a student. We'll tell you what's happening to Debra Lafave now.

O'BRIEN: Also, a happy reunion and a dramatic rescue to tell you about out West. A family saved after they disappeared more than two weeks ago in the Oregon wilderness. We're going to talk to their rescuers this morning.

ROBERTS: Plus, going to bed and staying asleep isn't as easy as it sounds. Today in our series "Sleepless in America," how to sleep through the night without medication.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Here's a look at what's happening in America this morning. In Mississippi, emergency services are trying now to recover the bodies of two construction workers. The men died on Tuesday during the demolition of a casino barge in Gulfport. That barge was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina.

On New York's Long Island, the man who somehow survived this horrific crash. Remember we showed you this videotape last week. He's home today.

His car was crushed by an out-of-control truck. The truck and the car then slid into the concrete divider. Then that bus where there was a video camera smashed into both of them. Believe it or not, no serious injuries from this accident.

And in Maryland, ooh, yes, this is what you call moving day. They are trying to move that house.

A couple finally having their dream home moved into place. It's a 19th century home, but it hit a big old snag on Tuesday after the truck that was transporting the house broke an axle.

The couple just paid $1 -- $1 to save the historic home. It is costing them, though, $100,000 to move it into place -- John.

ROBERTS: Still a pretty good deal, though, any way you measure it.

All this week we're taking a look at being "Sleepless in America."

Today the confessions of an insomniac. As many as 70 million Americans have trouble sleeping, and you're about to meet one of them and find out what she's doing about it.

Here's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's 4:00 a.m. Jolie Fainburg wakes up and can't get back to sleep.

JOLIE FAINBURG, INSOMNIAC: I'm very tired. I woke up.

GUPTA: She's busy enough during the day to be tired. So why can't she sleep?

FAINBURG: Stop (INAUDIBLE).

GUPTA: She and her husband Stan, both in their mid 40s, are raising two energetic toddlers.

FAINBURG: Very busy. There's a lot going on.

GUPTA: Jolie also works at Children's Health Care of Atlanta, where she heads up a program that fits implants on children with severe hearing impairments. FAINBURG: Listen. And raise your hand. Remember, you listen? You do that.

So I leave the office, and sometimes I leave things undone. And I will often wake up in the middle of the night and realize, I didn't do that. Oh my gosh, I forgot to call them back. Oh no.

GUPTA: Jolie is usually in bed by 10:30 and asleep around 11:00. But she doesn't stay asleep.

We asked Jolie to videotape those moments.

FAINBURG: I'm a little anxious and wired up.

GUPTA: We arranged for Jolie to undergo a sleep assessment with psychologist Russell Rosenberg (ph). One suggestion, write down her worries and how she plans to deal with them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you don't have that in the middle of the night, "Oh my gosh, I forgot to do something."

GUPTA: He also says Jolie should make a list at night of all she has to do in the next two days.

FAINBURG: In the night I don't think about them as much.

GUPTA: Rosenberg also says Jolie should do more invigorating workouts like weight lifting earlier in the day, but continue more relaxing exercises like stretching at night. At home, she avoids caffeine later in the day.

There's no TV or computer in the bedroom. No ringing cell phones or buzzing BlackBerrys to disrupt that peaceful night's sleep. Her thermostat is set for good sleeping, between 66 and 70 degrees.

Rosenberg adds another twist. When you wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep, don't stay in bed worrying. Get up until you feel sleepy. Then go back to bed.

The idea, to make the bed a place for sleep.

For Jolie, those changes are already making a difference.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How have things been going since you were here last?

FAINBURG: Pretty good. Well, I did most of the things that you recommended. Doing the relaxation before I go to bed has really helped a lot.

GUPTA: Jolie's sessions with Rosenberg, called cognitive behavior therapy, is designed to identify and change behaviors that keep you awake.

For Jolie, the subtle adjustments she's made in her routine could change her life. (on camera): It's been a few weeks since you and I last sat down. You've had a sleep assessment since then. How are you sleeping?

FAINBURG: Actually, a lot better. I'm still waking up some at night, but I'm going right back to sleep. I'm not having these long, extended awake periods.

GUPTA: How has your life changed?

FAINBURG: It's easier to get through day at work if I'm not feeling completely exhausted and out of sorts. It's incredible.

GUPTA: Can you put more hours in day for me, please? Do you think you can do that next?

GUPTA: I'm -- that's what I need.

GUPTA (voice over): Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: More hours in a day, that's what everybody needs. Our series "Sleepless in America" continues tomorrow with a look at kids and sleep. More and more children aren't getting the rest they really need. We'll look at why and the negative effects that that's having.

That's tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING.

O'BRIEN: When it comes to a hurricane hitting New York City, experts say it's not a question of if, but a question of when. Coming up, a look at the potential nightmare scenario.

Plus, the latest twist in the case of that Florida teacher accused of having sex with her student.

That's ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Happy birthday.

ROBERTS: Reese Witherspoon 30 years old.

O'BRIEN: Yes, 30 years young.

ROBERTS: I mean, it's like Keira Knightley, you know? To have that much success that early in your life, you know, what do you do for the rest of your life?

O'BRIEN: Good for -- exactly. Keep doing it. Keep doing it.

And William Shatner's 75 today. That's kind of neat.

Let's get to a look at the headlines. Carol's got that. She's in our newsroom. Hey, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

Good morning to all of you.

President Bush says he is optimistic but not out of touch. He's referring to the war in Iraq. The president taking questions from reporters on Tuesday. Today he'll face a friendlier crowd, addressing mostly military families in Wheeling, West Virginia.

In Oregon, a family back together after being trapped in their RV for two weeks. It was supposed to be two-hour trip but they got stuck in four feet of snow.

The family waited for days until they saw on their TV set that the search for them was being called off. So they split up and they started hiking.

We're going to hear about the rescue in the next hour on AMERICAN MORNING.

No trial for Debra Lafave. She's the Florida teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with her 14-year-old student.

The boy's mother wanted to avoid a public trial for the sake of her son's well-being. Lafave blames a bipolar disorder for her actions. She'll serve out the three years of house arrest and seven years probation on separate charges in the case.

And that snowstorm that's been messing up spring is moving east. Remember it buried parts of Nebraska with more than two feet? Well, it hit the Ohio Valley and the Midwest, and it's a mess out there.

Reynolds Wolf is in to tell us more about it.

Tell us.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROBERTS: Hey, Reynolds. Thanks very much.

No doubt the Gulf Coast and the Southeast are dreading the upcoming hurricane season. But the Northeast isn't exactly safe harbor. Coming up, we'll look at the frightening possibility of a hurricane hitting the Big Apple.

Plus, a CNN exclusive. A same-sex couple breaks its silence. They adopted a child through Catholic Charities, but now that organization says it will never let something like that happen again.

The couple's reaction ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: If you're an investor who wants to sue a company for fraud, it's going to be tougher.

Carrie Lee's got that. She's in, we should say, for Andy, who's on vaca.

Good morning.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you. Good morning.

That's right, the U.S. Supreme Court voting unanimously in favor of Merrill Lynch in what's known as holder lawsuits. Now, these are suits that allege fraud when an investor is convinced not to sell shares that they already own or convinced not to buy stock they don't own.

They are called holder lawsuits, and Merrill argued that these should be argued in federal court. It's cheaper and easier for them, and the Supreme Court basically agreeing.

So that's what's happening at Merrill.

Now, here's an idea for home improvement. How about a storm room? This is something Dupont is working on with a major retailer, possibly Lowe's or Home Depot, a big home improvement company.

They say these are certified by FEMA as a protective shelter against tornadoes, even a Category 5 hurricane. They cost about $6,000 to $10,000. You build them -- basically a room within a room of your home.

You can see why people after Katrina might want those.

ROBERTS: Interesting, yes.

O'BRIEN: That is really interesting.

ROBERTS: It is a good idea.

LEE: They can double as closet or a wine cellar, as well.

ROBERTS: Well, let's check to see if there's any severe weather coming up -- coming up in our forecast as we approach the top of the hour.

We go back to Reynolds Wolf. He's at the CNN Center.

Good morning, Reynolds.

WOLF: Good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: All right, Reynolds. Thanks.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

ROBERTS: And I'm John Roberts, in all this week for Miles O'Brien.

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