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American Morning
Duke Rape Investigation; Terror Leader Captured; Moussaoui Trial; Capitol Complaint
Aired April 06, 2006 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miles O'Brien.
Severe weather expected for middle America today -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right now the radar looks fine. But all the way from Omaha down through Kansas City, the battle zone today, down into Oklahoma. More on that coming up.
S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, -- Chad.
Also, new developments in the Duke University rape investigation. Police uncover a disturbing e-mail. The coach quits. The team's season is canceled. Much more on this story ahead.
And the Capitol scuffle involving Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney now heads to a grand jury. Is it still really much ado about a hairdo as she's claiming? A closer look this morning.
M. O'BRIEN: What could prove an emotional day in the Zacarias Moussaoui trial, families of 9/11 victims will have their say as the penalty phase begins.
And two new illegal immigrant raids just as the Senate gets ready to begin its battle over who gets to live in America.
S. O'BRIEN: We begin with the rape investigation involving Duke University's lacrosse team. It's expanding to include conspiracy to commit murder. Results from DNA tests on 46 team members could come as early as today. So far, no charges have been filed. Meanwhile, the team's season is officially over. The coach is out.
More now from Mike Dunston of affiliate WTVD in Durham, North Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE DUNSTON, WTVD-TV REPORTER (voice-over): Coach Mike Pressler walks into the family home, not talking to our cameras, but after 16 seasons as a Duke lacrosse coach, he no longer has a home at the university.
(on camera): President Brodhead, was the coach fired? Did he resign on his own or was he encouraged to resign? RICHARD BRODHEAD, DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT: I'm just going to say in response to that, that when the coach offered his resignation, I thought by this point it was quite appropriate.
DUNSTON: Should it have come sooner?
BRODHEAD: It didn't seem necessary at one point. But by the time we've reached this point, I think it's just for certain. And I think everybody has recognized it that it was just really unlikely that this person could continue in any effective way.
DUNSTON: Duke President Richard Brodhead told us there are several university investigations under way, like examining the culture of the lacrosse team. And some students and others on campus seem to agree that the coach had to go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess the coach of the team, he has a responsibility as a whole for the team and their actions, whether he condones them or not. So I think it was the right thing to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But under the circumstances, I can't say that I blame him.
DUNSTON: But the lacrosse coach resignation isn't the only thing the Duke president is responding to. A disturbing and violent e-mail that police linked to one of the players has also gotten the community and the president upset.
BRODHEAD: And I'd have to say when I read it, I was sickened. I found it repulsive. That's all I can say.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: That report comes to us from Mike Dunston of affiliate WTVD.
Now for more on that disturbing e-mail, a member of the team said he was planning another party with strippers, this time they'd be killed and skinned. It's unknown exactly what was meant by that e- mail. He's been suspended, though, from the university.
Coming up in the next hour, we're going to talk with the editor of the Duke student newspaper about the story and also rising racial tensions there -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: One of the most wanted terrorist leaders in Iraq has been captured. His name is Muhammed Ubaydi. He is the chief suspect in the highly publicized kidnapping of an Italian journalist, you may recall, and he has strong ties to the al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
CNN's Aneesh Raman on the phone now from Baghdad with more.
Aneesh, what can you tell us about this capture?
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Miles, good morning.
The U.S. military is saying it is a major catch by Iraqi sources. In custody, a man dubbed Abu Ayman. As you say, strong ties to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq. He is also, Abu Ayman, a former aide to the chief of staff of intelligence during Saddam Hussein's regime. We understand from the U.S. military he was captured in southern Baghdad on March 7. The delay, in terms of the announcement, was to identify -- to verify, sorry, his identity.
Now in addition to the strong ties to Zarqawi, he is also, as you mentioned, the principle suspect behind the kidnapping of Italian journalist Guiliana Sgrena that happened last February. He is also behind, we're told, a number of other kidnappings, killings and some of the biggest IED attacks we have seen in the country both against U.S. forces and against Iraqis.
We're waiting for more information from Iraqi Interior Ministry officials. With all the defense officials, it seems Iraqi intelligence is what led to this capture -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Aneesh, we just got word about a bombing in the holy city of Najaf. What can you tell us about that?
RAMAN: Yes, local police officials in the holy city of Najaf are telling us that a car bomb exploded just a couple hundred meters away from the Imam Ali holy shrine. The explosion took place in the square around there. The officials said there are now a number of people killed or wounded, but we're not getting details in terms of specific casualty numbers at the moment.
One can imagine a scene of confusion there. But this is a holy Shia city. Najaf is where the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the spiritual leader of the Shia in Iraq, resides. It will undoubtedly inflame further the sectarian divisions here -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, and the reason we've got you on the phone is you're at the courthouse, once again, covering the Saddam Hussein trial. Tell us about that and give us an update.
RAMAN: Yes, Saddam Hussein not in court today. Instead, one of his co-defendants, a former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court was alone in the talks. Prosecutors painted essentially a farcical legal procedure that took place back in 1982 after that failed assassination attempt on Saddam Hussein. The 148 individuals who were sentenced to death, it seems, all had only one lawyer. The trial lasted for some 16 days. There was no appeal.
The court has adjourned. It's going to meet next Wednesday, April 12, for some expert testimony, and then we'll enter the last phase where the defense will present its case -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Aneesh Raman on the line with us from Baghdad, thank you -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Phase two of Zacarias Moussaoui's sentencing trial begins this morning in Alexandria, Virginia. For jurors, the decision is life in prison without parole or death for the al Qaeda conspirator. It's sure to be the first of many emotional days in the courtroom as jurors hear from loved ones of 9/11 victims.
CNN's Kelli Arena has more for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): CNN has learned that Rudy Giuliani, the mayor who led New York through the September 11 terrorist attacks, is expected to be among the first witnesses when the Zacarias Moussaoui trial resumes today. Prosecutors will call Giuliani to show jurors how the attacks disrupted the functions of New York's government and economy.
Some 40 relatives of attack victims will also testify over the next week. Panicked phone calls to 9/11 emergency operators will be played for the jury, as will calls from passengers and flight attendants on the four hijacked planes.
Now the judge also ruled to allow the government to play the cockpit voice recorder from Flight 93 that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Now as for the defense, it plans witnesses to question Moussaoui's mental health and to talk about his troubled childhood. The jury has already decided Moussaoui's lies to federal agents who arrested him a month before 9/11 helped the terror plot succeed. Now it has to decide whether to sentence him to death or life in prison.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Coming up in our next hour, we're going to talk with Carrie LaMack (ph). Her mother died on September 11. And like many who lost loved ones on that day, she's been following the trial very closely.
Be sure to stay with CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: A very rare sight in Israel to tell you about, a tornado sweeping through western Galilee. There were about 70 injures, none too serious. The big loss was to the fruit crop, 80 percent of it wiped out.
And here's an unusual view of one of Sunday's most destructive tornadoes. It comes from surveillance cameras at the Caruthersville, Missouri, high school. The tornado ripped the roof off the building, as you see there. More than half the town is destroyed. The town did not have electricity or drinkable water until Wednesday.
In North Dakota, the overflowing Red River we've been telling you about the past few days is continuing to cause trouble. It is expected to crest today in Grand Forks about 20 feet above the flood stage. The water has already crested in Fargo, but meteorologists say it will stay above flood stage well into next week.
Let's get the forecast in. Chad Myers with that.
Hello, -- Chad.
MYERS: Do you know that river runs to the north all the way up into Winnipeg?
M. O'BRIEN: I did read that. You know we think -- when you look at the map you think it would flow north to south, but it doesn't do that. Doesn't do that.
MYERS: That's right. No, actually goes up into the lakes up here, rather.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
MYERS: Goes that way rather than that way.
And that's why Grand Forks, although it's farther to the north, is just getting the crest, where Fargo had it, because they were farther to the south. They got the crest yesterday.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Back to you.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, our forecaster and pastry chef, Chad Myers, thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, -- Chad.
MYERS: All right.
S. O'BRIEN: Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney's case headed to a grand jury now. Is she going to face federal charges for her run-in with the Capitol Hill police? We're going to take a closer look at that this morning.
M. O'BRIEN: Also, former Enron bigwig Jeff Skilling gets to take the stand. We'll tell you why his testimony is expected to make or break the case.
S. O'BRIEN: Then later, Massachusetts takes dramatic steps towards healthcare for all. Is it a prescription that could come to your state? Some answers ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: What pretty shots, but, boy, is it dark out there.
M. O'BRIEN: It's dark.
Thank you to The Boss this morning.
S. O'BRIEN: It's dark and a little chilly. Welcome back, everybody.
Let's get right to Carol. She's got a look at our top stories this morning.
Hey, -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I sure do.
Good morning. Good morning to all of you.
Brian Doyle is in a Maryland jail this morning awaiting extradition. The Homeland Security official made an initial court appearance on Wednesday, one day after he was arrested in an online child sex sting. Doyle is accused of making sexual advances online to an undercover detective he thought was a 14-year-old girl. Doyle is expected to be extradited to Florida. That's where the sting was based.
President Bush expected to call on Iraqi leaders to step up and do their jobs. He's due in Charlotte, North Carolina, later today. The president expected to give a speech on the global war on terror.
A convicted killer on the loose this morning. A manhunt now under way for this man, Richard McNair. Authorities say he escaped from a prison in Louisiana. They are still not sure how he got out, but they say he is considered dangerous.
Former New York Mets and Yankees pitcher Dwight Gooden choosing prison over rehab. He was sentenced on Wednesday to one year and one day for violating his probation by using cocaine. Prosecutors apparently offered Gooden treatment in an in-patient alcohol and drug addiction facility instead of prison, but he turned it down.
A man is in stable condition after what police describe as a baby shower gone bad. Police in Springfield, Massachusetts, answered the call to find one man shot and several others beaten, including the seven-month pregnant mother-to-be. Nineteen-year-old Juan Velazquez faces charges, including armed assault with intent to murder.
And if most people were not afraid enough of the dentist, this car rammed into a dental waiting room. It seems the driver blacked out. Luckily, no one was hurt. Police say the driver is diabetic and that may have contributed to her blackout.
Let's head to the Forecast Center now to check in with Chad.
Good morning.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Back to you.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad, thank you very much. Well a grand jury is expected to hear testimony today about Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney's scuffle with the Capitol Hill police. The hearing is to decide whether the Georgia lawmaker should be charged for the incident, which she is calling racial profiling.
Let's get right to Marc Teichner. He is with our affiliate WAGA in Atlanta.
Hey, Marc, good morning.
MARC TEICHNER, WAGA-TV REPORTER: Good morning.
S. O'BRIEN: How is the story playing out where you are?
TEICHNER: Well, as you can imagine, it's pretty much the talk of the town. She is a fairly controversial figure here in Atlanta. There are folks who really love her and there are folks who, quite frankly, really don't like her at all.
S. O'BRIEN: Tell me a little bit more about how her constituents are staying with or not staying with her.
TEICHNER: Well, the constituents that are her supporters are pretty firmly in her camp and have been pretty firmly in her camp. This is not the first controversial issue that's come up with Congresswoman McKinney. And the folks who support her believe that she is an outspoken person who -- quote -- "speaks the truth and represents them."
Then there are folks on the other side of the issue who think that she's, quite frankly, an embarrassment to the city and to the community. Needless to say, she's a very controversial figure.
She was of course voted out of office not too long ago. At the time, she blamed that on Republican crossover votes. The congresswoman who went in, Denise Majette, decided not to seek re- election and instead decided to try to run for Senate. That was unsuccessful, so that opened the seat up again for Congresswoman McKinney to go back into office, which is where she has been back in.
And as she claims, you know she's got 10, 11 years experience and that she thinks the Capitol police should know who she is by now no matter what her hairdo is and no matter how it might have changed recently.
S. O'BRIEN: What have the implications been of all of this on local politics?
TEICHNER: Well, we do have a governor's race coming up. And at this point in time, there is a noticeable silence from the Democratic candidates. They pretty much have remained silent. In fact, a lot of the Democratic Congress members, people like John Lewis, also not out speaking publicly about this.
The Republicans, at least locally, are trying to capitalize on that, and they are trying to turn it into a political gain for them, saying that it depends on who you are associated with and who you are friends with tells what kind of person you are.
But at this point in time, the Democrats are laying low and the Republicans are trying to weigh in as much as they can, which is pretty much what you're seeing on the national level as well.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I was going to say exactly what we're seeing at the national level.
Marc Teichner of our affiliate WAGA in Atlanta, thanks. Appreciate it.
TEICHNER: Sure. No problem.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Multimillion-dollar decision in the Vioxx case.
Carrie Lee with details.
Good morning, -- Carrie.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad and Miles.
Two outcomes in New Jersey for Merck. You know they have thousands of lawsuits against it. We're talking about the whole Vioxx fallout.
Now what happened here, the jury reached a split decision yesterday. Two plaintiffs, one won, one lost, effectively. One man was awarded $4.5 million. The other man was awarded 45 bucks covering the cost of his medication.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow!
LEE: Of course the big question here, how long were these men taking the drug? Well the first one was taking it for a long time, for four years, suffered a heart attack, fell, broke his hip. His health deteriorated since then. He now uses a wheelchair. The reason the other -- he's the won who won $4.5 million and that doesn't include punitive damages.
The other man won just $45 because he couldn't document how long he had been taking it. His medical records showed just seven months. He had said he has been taking the drug for 22 month, so that's why his outcome was very different.
M. O'BRIEN: So if you are keeping score on all the Vioxx trials, where does it stand right now?
LEE: One win and one loss yesterday puts it at two for two total. So it's an even legal score. Of course Merck still has over 9,000 cases against it. So even if it wins most of them, still, a lot of money the company is going to be paying out any way you slice it.
S. O'BRIEN: And you know the accountants and the lawyers are sitting together on this one trying to figure out what the numbers are going to be.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
LEE: Absolutely.
One kind of sad case here, there's a New Orleans man who dropped his Vioxx suit. The judge refused to delay his trial, which was set for June 12. He couldn't get his records together in time because of Katrina, so he is not able to even come to the suit as other people are, unfortunately for him.
M. O'BRIEN: They wouldn't give him a break?
LEE: No. No.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow!
S. O'BRIEN: That's interesting.
LEE: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, -- Carrie Lee.
LEE: OK, sure.
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up in our 8:00 Eastern hour, part two of our "A.M. Tax Guide." Beverly Goodman from "Smart Money" will show us some of the most overlooked deductions.
S. O'BRIEN: Your mortgage. Many people don't deduct their mortgage.
M. O'BRIEN: Come on.
S. O'BRIEN: No.
M. O'BRIEN: That's the one you know about, right?
LEE: That's the big one.
S. O'BRIEN: Why else buy a house?
LEE: That's a big reason to buy a house.
S. O'BRIEN: Apparently.
M. O'BRIEN: That's right.
(CROSSTALK)
LEE: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: We're going to talk to her about that this morning. How -- why would you forget to deduct your house? We'll talk about that ahead.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. That's one of the many things we will do and one of the many surprises you will find ahead if you stay with us.
Let's get Carol in and see what's coming up in "Morning Coffee."
COSTELLO: I am trying to puzzle out the answer to that one myself, and I can't come up with one.
But coming up, the government finds a cancer-causing chemical in soft drinks but says, hey, don't worry about it.
And do you think airport security takes too long? What if you had to undergo a truth verifier? We'll tell you what's up with that in "Morning Coffee."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Young MC. I haven't heard Young MC in a really long time.
COSTELLO: I know. We all want to get up and dance.
S. O'BRIEN: That's playing.
COSTELLO: But it's...
M. O'BRIEN: Wakes me up.
COSTELLO: But it's time for "Morning Coffee" now. We'll dance later.
If you thought airport security was bad, be happy you don't live in Moscow. In July, they will start using the truth verifier. You know, a lie detector.
It works kind of like this. You pick up the handset and you answer four questions. One, what is your identity? Are you carrying any weapons? Are you carrying any drugs? And have you ever lied to the authorities? Now the people in Moscow say the machine can tell if you are coming up with the answers from your memory or your imagination.
M. O'BRIEN: Have you ever lied to the authorities? I mean that's a broad question.
S. O'BRIEN: It is. Like well which authorities?
M. O'BRIEN: I mean.
COSTELLO: Well I think you'll be stopped.
M. O'BRIEN: I mean is that -- your mom is an authority. You might have lied to her.
COSTELLO: True.
M. O'BRIEN: You know, any way.
COSTELLO: Very true.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, go ahead.
COSTELLO: At first, only suspicious passengers will be singled out. So you're probably going to be excused those first few times. But later, everyone will have to take the test before they can get their shoes back from the X-ray machine. So be looking out for those barefoot passengers in Moscow.
Hey, it is not good for drinking water, but if you find it in your soda, it won't kill you. The FDA says they found Benzene in many, many, many cans of diet soda. The level is about four times what is considered safe in drinking water. But the FDA says there is no real safety issue here.
Benzene, which is also found in cigarette smoke and gasoline, can form naturally in that can of diet soda. Light, heat and time on the shelf can all contribute. So I guess make sure that can of soda is brand spanking new when you buy it from the grocery store.
S. O'BRIEN: I'm surprised they are not concerned.
COSTELLO: No, they're not. It's OK.
S. O'BRIEN: It's a carcinogen.
M. O'BRIEN: It's OK, worry not.
COSTELLO: It's OK.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: And people -- and a lot of people drink a lot of soda every day.
COSTELLO: Another reason not to.
S. O'BRIEN: All right.
You can call it the race of the clones. Yes, a couple of ringers racing in this year's mule races in Winnemucca, Nevada. Here's one of them. His name is Idaho Gem. And along with his clone, Idaho Star, they will be the first of their kind to race in the annual event.
Of course, as I said, their kind, they are clones. Mules, of course, I don't know if you knew this, but they are part donkey and part horse. The two cloned mules are actually training at separate locations because they are going to face off you know in the race. But really, shouldn't we expect them to cross the finish line at exactly the same time?
S. O'BRIEN: Because they are clones.
COSTELLO: Right.
M. O'BRIEN: In theory. COSTELLO: Won't that be interesting to see?
S. O'BRIEN: Who knew there are mule races? Another interesting issue.
COSTELLO: Who knew?
S. O'BRIEN: I mean,...
COSTELLO: Who knew there were cloned...
S. O'BRIEN: ... forget the clone part. Right. Who knew there were cloned mules. Who knew there were mule races?
COSTELLO: It's a wonderful, wacky country we live in.
M. O'BRIEN: Already this morning I'm learning so much.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it is.
All right, Carol, thanks.
A look at the top stories straight ahead this morning, including why today might be a make or break day for Jeff Skilling in the Enron trial. We'll tell you about that.
Plus, Massachusetts wants to make sure that just about everybody has health insurance. How does that new plan work? We'll take a closer look on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Get the latest news every morning in your -email. Sign up for AMERICAN MORNING Quick News. CNN.com/am is the place.
Still to come on the program, one state's groundbreaking new universal healthcare plan. We are talking about Massachusetts here. Apparently it pleases both Democrat and Republican lawmakers. There's a news flash. We'll show you how it works.
Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: A major step in Massachusetts as they move closer to providing health insurance for everyone. Will your state be next to follow?
In his own words, former Enron executive Jeffrey Skilling is ready to take the stand in his own defense.
More severe weather to tell you about on the way already to areas that are battered by earlier tornadoes. Chad's got a forecast just ahead.
And major accidents in New Mexico as dust storms sweep across the state.
Much more on all those stories coming up this morning.
M. O'BRIEN: Good to have you with us this morning.
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