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American Morning
Duke Lacrosse Team Rape Case; A Day Without Immigrants
Aired May 02, 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: And meltdown in the roof of the world. A glacier in Tibet is melting, changing the weather, offering more proof the planet is warming, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.
We start this morning with some new developments for the Duke lacrosse team and a decision on the team's future. There will be a next season. A university committee says that while they found a pattern of misconduct, it's not enough to warrant disbanding the team.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PROF. JAMES E. COLEMAN JR. COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: You know, sexual assaults, we didn't find, you know, harassment. That was not the nature of the misconduct. And so in our judgment, based on the record that we reviewed, it didn't warrant suspension or termination of the program. The conduct of the lacrosse players did not differ from the misconduct of other students who drink too much and unfairly impose upon their neighbors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Well, here is what the committee report did find. They found a large number of players have been socially irresponsible, that the players need strict monitoring, because of the their alcohol- related problems. They report also says, though, that the team performed well both athletically and academically. The university committee did not take into account the current rape allegations, instead focusing on the team's behavior over the past five years.
The Duke report coming out the same day attorneys for one of the team members charged in connection with the rape called for the removal of the district attorney in the case, who coincidentally is seeking another term in office.
AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Today's election is important, because if D.A. Michael Nifong loses, he could be out of office before the trial of the two Duke lacrosse players even begins. Regardless, defense attorneys want him off the case. In one of 12 motions Monday, an attorney representing one of the suspects said, in Nifong's zeal to make national headlines and win a hotly contested primary, he intentionally ignored evidence.
MICHAEL NIFONG, DURHAM D.A.: There are some lawyers who there way of trying a case in the media is not to call press conferences, but to simply file motions, court papers that contain outrageous or false statements, and assume that people report them as if they were facts.
CHO: Yet Freda Black, who wants Nifong's job, some say the D.a. is most interested in winning the election.
FREDA BLACK, DURHAM D.A. CANDIDATE: I've had a number of people suggest to me that because he did not have name recognition price to the lacrosse case, that he tried to use this case in order to obtain recognition, name recognition, to try to beat me.
CHO: The two Duke suspects, sophomores Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty await a court appearance on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual assault. A lawyer for Seligmann has just admitted what he says are time-stamped photos, showing his client was at ATM making a withdrawal at the time he says alleged rape occurred. The prosecution has not responded. Nifong is pressing ahead, and says he is looking to charge a third suspect.
Alina Cho, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: The New Black Panther Party and some area residents held a rally in Durham on Monday to support the accuser in the case. They weren't allowed to march across the Duke campus. Instead, they went to the house where the alleged attack took place. They're calling for the house to be turned into a rape crisis center -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: A Security Watch now. The agency created in the aftermath of 9/11 to keep us safer from terrorism may not be doing the job. The former internal watchdog for Homeland Security says the agency makes us only margin marginally safer. Clark Kent Ervin charges in a new book that the agency has not corrected security problems at airports and along the borders, as well as in mass transit systems. He accuses Tom Ridge, the first head of the agency, on being more focused on fighting critics than terrorists. Ervin's book is called "Open Target: Where America is Vulnerable to Terrorism." We will talk with him in the 8:00 Eastern hour. Be sure to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
Protesters seeking amnesty for illegal immigrants skipped work, took to the streets all over the nation yesterday. The total head count, somewhere around a million people. Unclear if it caused more than a small ding on the U.S. economy, however.
Carol Costello now live in the newsroom with more.
Hello, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, Miles. Good morning to all of you.
It is back to business as usual today for scores of immigrants and their supporters after huge crowds packed the streets and cities from coast to coast Monday. The protests designed to show Americans just what they missed in A Day Without Immigrants.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MYR. ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA, LOS ANGELES: I am so proud to be an American! We are all proud to be Americans today. Fly your flag with pride!
COSTELLO (voice-over): Flag-waving immigrants, legal and illegal, turned out in force for two major rallies in Los Angeles. In all, some 600,000 demonstrators hit the L.A. streets Monday. The city's mayor insisting there's strength in those numbers, saying their voices must be heard.
VILLARAIGOSA: We say to the Congress, listen to us. We are America! We want to be a part of the dream. We love this country!
COSTELLO: In Las Vegas, a day and evening of demonstrations, with some 10,000 people punctuating the day's massive protest. Many of those at the evening rally worked during the day, and hit the streets after they clocked out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are at a crossroads.
COSTELLO: It was billed as a national day without immigrants. And many heeded the call to flex their economic muscle by staying home from work, from school and out of stores.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's important that we do a boycott today, to show that we are important.
COSTELLO: A sea of protesters from sea to shining sea. In Chicago, more than 300,000 marched to a rally in Grant Park. Attendance was down as much as 33 percent at predominantly Hispanic schools.
In Denver, a two-mile march to the state capital drew more than 50,000 demonstrators.
In New York, protesters formed a series of human chains in the city's five burroughs, then marched to the federal courthouse in Manhattan.
In South Florida, several thousand protesters gathered in Homestead, which has a large Mexican community.
And in San Francisco, an estimated 55,000 people took to the streets. Many businesses in the traditionally Mexican mission district were closed. LUCY HOROWITZ, PROTEST SUPPORTER: I think the people who come here illegally in order to support their families back home, in order to make a living for themselves, are very brave and noble people, and I admire them enormously.
O'BRIEN: But not all immigrants agree with Monday's action. One group spoke out against the mass protests and the reasons behind them.
COL. ALBERTO F. RODRIGUEZ, U.S. ARMY (RET.): We're all here today to tell those illegal protesters, you do not speak for me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: People in Mexico City also showed their support for the U.S. rallies, calling for a boycott of hundreds of U.S. businesses operating south of the border. We'll see what happens today, later today.
Back to you, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Carol, thank you.
A mass disruption, that's what's being predicted by Washington if bird flu pandemic actually hits the U.S. Washington D.C. coming up with a report. An early copy of the report includes quarantines and limits on travel.
No mention, though, of borders being shutdown yet. The White House is expected to release full details tomorrow.
Seven minutes past the hour. Time to check CNN's Gas Gauge this morning. The U.S. energy secretary says we're in an energy crisis. The White House agrees.
Listen to Scott McClellan here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: This is an issue that has been building for decades. This is a problem we didn't get into overnight, and we're not going to get out of overnight. We are dependent on foreign oil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: Despite concerns about gas prices, the White House press secretary says the economy is doing well. Government figures show spending increased by 2/10 of a percent in February. Checking the latest average gas price, $2.92 for unleaded regular. A month ago, that was $2.55. And one year ago it was $2.23.
Schools in Rhea County in Tennessee are expected to reopen this morning after being closed on Monday and last Friday, all in an effort to save money on gas for the school busses. The school system officials estimate that two days of canceled classes will save somewhere between $4,000 and $5,000. Pretty much what they did was take over those snow days.
And remember Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's plan for a one- time only $100 rebate? Well, he says he still wants to do it. He's backing off, though, from going for a tax increase on oil companies and other businesses to fund it. The rebate would cost about $10 billion. Senator Frist is going to talk to us about how he's going to fund it now. That proposal coming up in our next hour when we talk to him live -- Miles.
(NEWSBREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: No break from global warming. Greenhouse gases have increased. The government reports more carbon monoxide from cars and coal-burning power plants went into the air in 2005 than in 2004. Ten states, plus New York City and Washington D.C., are suing the EPA for not doing enough to limit emission. That can lead to global warming.
To China now, where that country says global warming is causing its glaciers to melt, and that could lead to drought and sandstorms. Global warming is also related to stronger hurricanes and intense heatwaves.
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, cellphone cameras, part of a cruel crime spree in Britain. Take a look at this video. They call this happy slapping. There's nothing happy about it, though. We'll explain in a moment.
S. O'BRIEN: Also ahead this morning, run, Rudy, run. Is the former of New York City mayor taking some small steps toward a big leap in 2008? We've got a political reality check just ahead this morning.
M. O'BRIEN: And David Blaine's underwater world. We'll explain this latest stunt, and we will ask the question, why? It's the only question that comes to mind really.
What else is making news this Tuesday morning, you ask? We have the answer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Take a look at these pictures, just coming in to CNN right now, live pictures courtesy of our affiliate in New York, WPIX. This is a two-alarm warehouse fire in New York City, Brooklyn, the Green Point section, appears to be right on the shores of lower New York Bay there. Firefighters are on the scene right now, as you can see, putting some fire on this vacant warehouse, which is a pretty massive fire, to say the least.
S. O'BRIEN: We're being told it's West Street and Quay (ph) Street in the Green Point section of Brooklyn, 140 firefights on the scene right now. M. O'BRIEN: No injuries reported, we're glad to tell you, and we will -- there's one of our affiliate reporters here.
Anyway, we'll watch it for you. But at this point, as we say, it's a vacant warehouse. No injuries reported. But quite a fire there at that vacant warehouse in Brooklyn -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Have you heard about this, this new crime spree in Great Britain? Teenagers brutally slap their victims, and recording their attacks for really everybody to see, then posting it on the Internet.
CNN's Paula Newton has our story this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's violent, voyeuristic video, and incredibly they call this chilling craze happy slapping. Just watch what happens. One person holds the camera phone and gets the schoolboy's attention. Then there it is. Out of nowhere, he's whacked. It's brutality that passes for entertainment. E-mailed to friends, posted on the Internet, and even rated for its gotcha value. Look closely as this man is hit twice. He staggers away. His attacker so bold tells the victim to go home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go home now. You're bleeding.
NEWTON: Police in Britain say these are sadistic crimes.
ELLIE O'CONNOR, BRITISH POLICE INVESTIGATOR: These assaults are far from happy. They are vicious, unprovoked attacks on persons ranging from 12 years well into their 30s and 40s.
NEWTON: Attacks that can kill. Tristan Christmas died when he was smacked to a cement floor and the camera just kept on rolling.
SIOBHAN CHRISTMAS, TRISTAN'S MOTHER: Makes me ill. It makes me ill.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel it's a dream. It's not real. How can people do that? It's sick, absolutely sick.
NEWTON: The attacker is now behind bars. To cope with their grief, Tristan's family has issued blunt appeals especially to teenagers.
CHRISTMAS: This isn't a joke. This is not funny. Someone died. A young, young, young man with his whole life ahead of him.
NEWTON: There is no denying the cult status of happy slapping. Again and again, thousands of people click and get millions of hits, outrageous video to be downloaded for its shock value.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to go happy slapping.
NEWTON (on camera): It used to be that some just craved their 15 minutes of fame. Now it's 15 megs of fame and it's really easy to get. You shoot just a few seconds of video and within hours, you're a star all over the Internet.
(voice-over): What some seem to forget is this is assault, a crime, but one that goes largely unreported. That makes attackers bold enough to broadcast the slapping, just for kicks.
DR. GRAHAM BARNFIELD, UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON: If you were a career criminal, the point is to make the evidence disappear. If you're a happy slapper, you're manufacturing evidence against yourself. It's that use of humiliation as entertainment that makes it so disturbing.
NEWTON: Disturbing and so outrageous some of the video has captivated millions. Take this footage, it may have been staged, but even so it got the whole country talking. Watch as this happy slap victim turns the tables.
Just the thought that one brave soul slapped that happy slapper back consoled many. They called him the have-a-go-hero and it speaks to how fed up and fearful many now are about a prank that sounds innocent and is anything but.
Paula Newton, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: That is just brutal. How awful.
Paula Newton's story first aired on "PAULA ZAHN NOW," which you can catch weeknights at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
Oh, that's awful.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it is.
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, the boy in the bubble: illusionist David Blaine takes the plunge. We'll tell you about his latest stunt. He's going to stay in there for a while, isn't he? I don't know.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. He's got a feeding tube and he's got a breathing tube. And here's my question, you know how the fish bowl gets really dirty after a while. We need to talk about this. I know, I've gone there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Take a deep breath for this next story. Illusionist David Blaine is planning on spending a week, one full week, inside a human aquarium. He got into the water-filled bowl in New York City yesterday. He'll have lifelines, tubes with air and food and -- we have all kinds of questions about how he maintains cleanliness in the bowl.
But after a week, Blaine will remove the air supply and try to break the world record for holding his breath, sort of the cherry on top of the Sunday kind of thing. And the record, you ask, is 8:58. I'm guessing Houdini might have that record still. Who knows. We'll check in on David Blaine live on AMERICAN MORNING starting at 6:00 a.m. Easter. The question is, he's an illusionist. Is he really in the aquarium?
S. O'BRIEN: You know, he has moved so far from being sort of a magician, the early tricks he did, to this kind of stuff. I don't know.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, he could be at a suite at the Ritz.
S. O'BRIEN: He's a master at P.R., I'll tell you that.
M. O'BRIEN: He's a robot.
S. O'BRIEN: He's a great publicist is what he really is.
But I'll watch. I'll definitely watch.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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