Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Critical Condition; Athens Bomb Attack; Quake Aftermath; Trouble in Kabul; You've Been Served!

Aired May 30, 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 to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.

Here is a look at what's happening this morning, Tuesday, May 30.

A day after being critically wounded in a roadside bombing in Iraq, CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier has arrived in Germany for treatment. A CBS cameraman and sound technician were killed in the attack.

Greek authorities are investigating a bombing in central Athens this morning. The bomb exploded near the home of the Greek cultural minister. Nobody was hurt.

M. O'BRIEN: In Afghanistan, the anti-U.S. rioting is over after an overnight curfew in Kabul. Afghans threw rocks and set a U.S. vehicle on fire after a U.S. military truck ran into a group of pedestrians. At least one person killed.

In Indonesia, the death toll from Saturday's devastating earthquake is climbing. Officials now put the number at more than 5,400. Thousands more are injured.

S. O'BRIEN: The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing today on the raid of Congressman William Jefferson's office. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have said the FBI's search was unconstitutional.

And The Associated Press is reporting that Democratic Senator Harry Reid accepted free fight tickets from Nevada boxing officials between 2003 and 2005. At the time, he was pushing for more federal regulation of the sport. Republican Senator John McCain attended one of those fights with Reid. He insisted, apparently, on paying for his own ticket.

M. O'BRIEN: Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff heads to New Orleans today. Chertoff will get a look at the city's hurricane evacuation plans and he'll take a bus tour of the city.

And in Toronto, city buses and trains should be running again this morning. Transit workers walked off the job yesterday in a contract dispute, but the government says the strike was illegal, ordered those workers back to work.

Let's get a check of the forecast this morning. Chad Myers is back.

Hope you had a good weekend, -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I did. I was up in Cincinnati with a family reunion and I get...

S. O'BRIEN: Was it fun?

MYERS: It was fun, except for that seven hours on an airplane to get to Cincinnati.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: What kind of a plane was that, Chad, just out of curiosity?

S. O'BRIEN: A very slow plane on the tarmac, apparently.

MYERS: A very slow one with mechanicals.

M. O'BRIEN: I can do better than that one.

MYERS: Good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Back to you guys.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad, thanks.

MYERS: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: CBS reporter Kimberly Dozier is in critical condition right now, wounded by a car bomb in Baghdad. The shrapnel has been removed from her head during two surgeries before she left Iraq. Now doctors at the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany are treating her most serious injuries.

Brings us right to CNN's Chris Burns. He is live for us in Landstuhl.

Hey, Chris, good morning. What do we know about her condition?

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Well she was medevaced from Iraq on a C-17 transport plane, along with other injured soldiers. This is one of these exceptions where they allow a civilian into Landstuhl Medical Center here. This is the largest U.S. military medical center outside of the U.S. She is getting expert care.

She is being -- she was admitted into intensive care here after being operated on twice back in Iraq for shrapnel wounds to the head. She's also suffering severe wounds to the lower body. Further details we don't know at this point. But we do hear from a medical source, from a hospital source here that she is expected to pull through -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a question about her family members, I know they have been notified. When do they expect they're going to make their way to Germany?

BURNS: Well what we hear is that the mother, father, son and possibly the daughter are expected to arrive early -- I'm sorry, it's brother and sister, are expected to arrive sometime tomorrow morning. We, however, have an interview with the uncle, Tom Dozier, in Hawaii, who had a few things to say to Kimberly when she can hear this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM DOZIER, KIMBERLY DOZIER'S UNCLE: Our prayers are with you. All the people we know have called and they have offered their prayers. And I know your mother and your father and all your family are praying for you. And we just miss you so much. We look forward to seeing you on television.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNS: Of course Kimberly Dozier's cameraman and soundman tragically died in that explosion, along with an Iraqi interpreter. Six U.S. soldiers were also injured in that blast yesterday -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Such terrible news.

Chris Burns for us this morning.

Chris, thanks.

Cameraman Paul Douglas, as Chris mentioned just a moment ago, and soundman James Brolan, an American soldier and Iraqi interpreter all died in that attack.

Paul Douglas was 48 years old, British. He leaves behind a wife, two grown daughters, three grandchildren. A former CBS producer describes him as an amazing human being who got out of many dangerous situations by using body language or the right words.

James Brolan was 42 years old, also British. He leaves behind a wife and two children ages 18 and 12. They call him the best dad, the best husband and the best mate to be with in a tight spot.

That's sad news.

M. O'BRIEN: New this morning, Marines involved in that alleged massacre in Haditha, Iraq may face murder charges. Sources are telling us the military now believes the Marines snapped and went on a rampage after one of their own was killed by a roadside bomb. The Marines killed at least 24 Iraqis in Haditha last November 19.

Lance Corporal Ryan Briones was part of the cleanup crew. This is how his mother describes what her son saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN BRIONES, MOTHER OF LANCE CPL. BRIONES: It was horrific. It was a terrible scene. The biggest thing that keeps to his mind is the children. He had to carry, since he was part of the cleanup crew, is carry that little girl's body. And her head was blown off, or something, that her brain splattered on his boots. And that's what effects Ryan the most.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many bodies did he tell you he saw?

BRIONES: Twenty-three. Around 23, 24. Twenty-three is what I remember.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were any of them alive?

BRIONES: No, they were all dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Congressman John Murtha is among lawmakers who have been -- received a briefing from the Pentagon on the Haditha killings. He'll be our guest in the next hour.

In Greece, a bomb blast apparently aimed at a high-ranking government minister. It happened in central Athens near the home of the Cultural Minister George Voulgarakis. The bomb exploded along the route normally taken by the minister's motorcade just minutes before he would have passed by.

Journalist Anthee Carassava joins us on the phone from Athens with more -- Anthee.

ANTHEE CARASSAVA, JOURNALIST: Well, Miles, no terror group has claimed responsibility to this hour for the attack. But authorities here tell us that the bomb blast bore the hallmarks of a new terror group called the Revolutionary Struggle. Now this group has been the most active terror group in Greece in recent years or else since Greece's most deadliest terrorists were arrested and jailed ahead of the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics.

Now the blast against George Voulgarakis, one of the most heavily guarded Cabinet ministers and now the Greek Cultural Minister, was triggered by a time bomb. We understand it went off about 70 yards from the minister's house between two cars that were subsequently wrecked. No one was injured, but police say that was just sheer luck.

M. O'BRIEN: Anthee, why would this particular minister be a target? Any thoughts on that?

CARASSAVA: Well he is now the cultural minister. But up until recently, up until early this year, he held a very, very crucial post and that was the Head of the Public Order Ministry, and he was the head of that security ministry, so to speak, at a time when a lot of scandals surfaced.

And there is enormous pressure right now against Mr. Voulgarakis over claims by a group of Pakistani immigrants who say that he was abducted -- that they were abducted and tortured by Greek authorities after the bombings in London last year.

So Mr. Voulgarakis is under fire, at the moment, and it's understandable, to a certain degree, why anarchists and extremists would put him -- would target him.

M. O'BRIEN: Anthee Carassava joining us from Athens, thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Also overseas in Indonesia, too many patients and not enough supplies. Aid groups need help for victims of Saturday's big earthquake. The death toll stands at more than 5,400 with thousands of people injured and tens of thousands of people left homeless.

CNN's Dan Rivers is in Yogyakarta this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well this is day four after this disaster now. Four days that the survivors of having to be camped out in the ruins of their home.

The big aid effort is now beginning to get under way. The airport has reopened in Yogyakarta, meaning that a lot of the supplies can be flown directly into the disaster zone, which will, no doubt, help the aid agencies and the Indonesian government get food and supplies out to the people that need it most.

The World Food Program tells us that they are setting up a two- month feeding program. They estimate that there is a hard core of about 20,000 people who really desperately need help immediately. And then they are hoping to feed up to 80,000 people in the first month and scaling that back to 50,000 people in the second month. And they're hoping that after two months they will have been able to get most people in this area back on their feet and back able to fend for themselves.

One other big area of concern is the hospitals. They have been completely unable to cope with the number of people coming in for treatment. We've been up there yesterday and there are people who have been waiting for days for treatment.

There are no basic medical supplies, a shortage of basic painkillers, of antibiotics and bandages and stretchers. So they are appealing for more medical aid. They are appealing for any doctors in the region that can come in and help them to come here and help treat the thousands of injured that are now pouring into the hospital.

Dan Rivers, CNN, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: In Afghanistan, the streets of Kabul are quiet after an overnight curfew. And Afghan troops are patrolling, trying to keep the peace after widespread anti-U.S. rioting. Most of -- it's the most violent since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

CNN's Barbara Starr is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It is the day after the violence and rioting broke out across Kabul, stunning many of the people who live here who thought this city was relatively peaceful.

Overnight, 800 Afghan National Army troops arrived in the city to assist the local police here in trying to keep order. The day after this, it appears, at this point, that the city is relatively quiet.

But the assessment is yesterday's violence was organized by those who are opposed to Afghan President Hamid Karzai. There are people in this city who feel Karzai is politically vulnerable. And apparently, after the rioting and violence broke out, after that traffic accident in which U.S. troops were involved, a good deal of cell phone traffic erupted across the city.

People were being telephoned, organized to come out into the street. That is when the mob of several hundred people began to move across the city. There was additional rioting, violent, some facilities were torched and that is when the Afghan troops were called in.

Barbara Starr, CNN, Kabul, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Happening in America this morning.

Severe weather sweeps across Texas and Houston. People are cleaning up and drying out, too, after a very rainy Memorial Day. Up to 16 inches of rain fell in the immediate area, flooding streets and basements, too.

Severe weather in Burlington, Wisconsin to tell you about as well, the city's Chocolate Fest was closed four hours early after five people were injured by lightning strikes. The five were not hit directly by lightning. They say they were treated at a hospital and released.

Strong thunderstorms in the Dakotas, also. That's hail that you're looking at right there in Bennet County in South Dakota. Winds gusted up to 70 miles an hour in the western half of the state. Blew roofs right off sheds, damaged some mobile homes, too. No severe injuries were reported.

And parts of Interstate 95 in Brevard County in Florida back up and running. Fog and smoke, though, could slow the morning commute. A 2,000-acre brushfire shut the highway down on Sunday. Fire fighters are still working to put it out.

And the jockey who was riding Barbaro when he broke his leg at the Preakness visits the horse this morning. Jockey Edgar Prado will speak to reporters after the visit at the veterinary hospital. Barbaro, the winner of the Kentucky Derby, had his racing career ended by that horrible, horrible accident.

M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, running for their lives. A journalist and an ambulance driver caught in the crossfire of a deadly raid in Gaza.

S. O'BRIEN: Also, real estate agents are predicting a big change in the rental market. Find out what that could mean if you're looking for an apartment.

M. O'BRIEN: And be careful, the next time you open your door to a cute freckled face teenager she may not be selling cookies. Why this teen is serving court papers instead of French fries.

Plus, Carrie is with us with a look at business headlines.

Good morning.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to both of you.

One day after Memorial Day, the summer driving season is now in full gear. Hurricane season officially kicks off this week. What does this mean for oil and gas prices? I'll have that story coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: CNN the most trusted name in news.

M. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning.

CBS reporter Kimberly Dozier in Germany for medical treatment critically wounded Monday in a roadside bombing in Iraq.

A House committee holds a hearing today on the FBI search of Congressman William Jefferson's office. Both Democrats and Republicans have called it unconstitutional.

And an Israeli strike in Gaza kills at least four Palestinians. Nine others wounded, including an ambulance worker and a reporter. The Israeli military says it spotted militants getting ready to launch a rocket into Israeli territory.

S. O'BRIEN: It's 17 minutes past the hour, let's get right to the forecast and Chad Myers.

Hey, Chad, good morning.

MYERS: Good morning, Soledad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Back to you.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, and that's really, really hot.

MYERS: Yes.

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

MYERS: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: Here's the story this morning of a girl who is 18 years old and very well schooled in surveillance.

CNN's Kyung Lah has a story about a Georgia teenager who has taken up the family business and become a real life private eye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): High school senior, class of 2006, likes boys, pop music.

KRISTI MARTINELLI, TEENAGE PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: This is probably Red Hot Chili Peppers, their new CD.

LAH: Just another normal 18-year-old. But behind this bright- eyed smile...

K. MARTINELLI: This is my P.I. license.

LAH: A modern day Nancy Drew.

(on camera): And this is the evidence that you're a real life private eye?

K. MARTINELLI: Yes, I mean this is -- yes, this is, because, you know, I'd, obviously, probably need it more than anybody.

LAH (voice-over): Eighteen-year-old Kristi Martinelli is a licensed private investigator in the state of Georgia. Today's mystery, the case of the missing heirloom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the heirloom that's missing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow!

LAH: Kristi heads out with fellow P.I. and mom, Robin Martinelli. They check pawnshops.

K. MARTINELLI: Do you all ever carry any pearl necklaces? It accidentally got sold at a garage sale we had.

LAH: Scouting out the goods and the crooks thought to be teenagers.

ROBIN MARTINELLI, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR/MOTHER: We thought since we were dealing with kids, it might be a really good idea maybe to get a P.I. agency that has an investigator that is that age who knows how to speak to them.

K. MARTINELLI: The last thing they're going to think is she's a private investigator doing surveillance or something like that, so.

LAH (on camera): So it's a perfect cover.

K. MARTINELLI: It is. I don't have to dress up like anybody else or anything.

LAH (voice-over): Kristi grew up watching her mom on the job. Last year, mom suggested she start taking classes to help out at the agency. Her mother, who's also her boss, says she never forgets Kristi's safety.

R. MARTINELLI: So I've told her, if she feels uncomfortable to just keep driving and call me and tell me she doesn't want to take that job or she doesn't want to serve that paper. And she's told me she hasn't been threatened in any way.

LAH (on camera): And how did you decide that you wanted to work with your mom?

K. MARTINELLI: I just -- the money, honestly. I know I guess I saw her paychecks and you know I didn't want to work at a McDonald's because I saw how hard my friends had to work. Film, battery packs for the hidden camera, tapes. Even you can't ever be too prepared.

LAH (voice-over): And Kristi mainly serves legal papers for 60 bucks a pop, but she says there is still often a hint of danger.

K. MARTINELLI: I get nervous when I go up to the door, because you never know who you're going to get to answer the door because you don't those people most of the time.

LAH: And the people don't know her.

So beware, the next knock on your door is a redhead with a purpose and some disarming secret weapons.

K. MARTINELLI: I guess my freckles maybe.

LAH: Kyung Lah, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: If that redhead is serving you some papers, too, you could be in big trouble. Kristi's mom says Georgia state officials have searched all their records and Kristi might be the youngest person who was ever issued a private investigator's license. Good for her.

M. O'BRIEN: I think we just blew her cover, though, didn't we?

S. O'BRIEN: I know.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Hopefully no...

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, that's a little...

M. O'BRIEN: ... kids are watching at this hour. Off to school or something.

Still to come, a former POW imprisoned by the Iraqis during Desert Storm gets a surprising letter from his captor. Will he reply?

And you could say this high school senior was driven to perfect attendance. Why it really pays to go to school in some places.

Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back.

Here's a look at some of the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.

An unexpected letter for a former American prisoner of war from his Iraqi interrogator. Retired Lt. Col. Jeff Fox was held for 15 days during Desert Storm. Fox says the letter had the interrogator's phone number on it, but he's not planning on calling him.

Sources tell CNN that murder charges could be coming for some U.S. Marines. Some members of Congress have been briefed on the investigation into that alleged massacre at Haditha.

And here is a shocker, Americans don't like to wait. A new survey by The Associated Press shows that most of us had had enough after -- how long do you think?

M. O'BRIEN: I'm done now. That was it. That was enough of a wait right there.

S. O'BRIEN: Three seconds for you.

M. O'BRIEN: That story was too long.

S. O'BRIEN: Fifteen minutes for everybody else.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

Might be a good day to be nice to the landlord, suck up to the landlord day we'll call it, because your rent is going up. Real estate agents say rents will rise this year more than they have in the past six years, five points and change. The main reasons, OK, newly- hired workers looking for apartments, houses are becoming too expensive for renters to buy, apartment buildings being converted to condos and people displaced by Hurricane Katrina causing a ripple effect in other rental markets. Interesting.

S. O'BRIEN: Bad news. That's a bummer.

LEE: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Carrie Lee is here.

S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. M. O'BRIEN: Good morning.

LEE: Could be ranking (ph) soon, we'll see, yes, unfortunately.

All right, a couple of things happening here.

First of all, we have oil prices rising above $71 a barrel. A couple of things happening this week, we have the summer driving season in full force after Memorial Day. Also, hurricane season officially kicks off this week, June 1.

What does this mean for oil and gas prices going forward? Well traders expecting gasoline demand to increase for a couple of reasons. We have air ticket prices going up, also the weak dollar. That could cause more domestic driving trips for the summer vacations. Also, we are expecting the hurricane season this year to be active, not as active as last year, fortunately, but still active in that sense.

Also, there's an OPEC meeting in Venezuela on Thursday. And OPEC is expected to keep oil output unchanged, although Venezuela believes that oil is seeing a well supplied market and so they are expected to ask for or initiate or ask for a production cut. So that's what's happening for oil. Once again, though, above $71 a barrel at this point.

Meanwhile, Daewoo founder sentenced to 10 years in prison. This, of course, is the failed South Korean conglomerate. Here's a look at him, a recent look from yesterday. Charges against him include accounting fraud and embezzlement. Kim Woo-Choong is 69 years old. He's also going to forfeit $22 billion and pay a small fine. The accounting fraud did cause the breakup of that company and a big negative for South Korea.

And finally, a quick check on stocks. We did see the Dow rebound a little bit last week. You can see up 1.2 percent. This week of course a short trading week. Markets were closed yesterday. And it is looking like some red arrows for the start this Tuesday morning, especially for technology stocks.

S. O'BRIEN: Why?

LEE: Yes. Well those inflation fears. We're continuing to see this really overshadowing everything else. We will get a look at May consumer confidence once trading starts, how people are feeling about the economy, and that's one thing that could give us some direction today. But so far, looking like a weak start.

S. O'BRIEN: Great. Thanks.

LEE: OK.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, well thanks, Carrie.

S. O'BRIEN: The morning's top stories are straight ahead, including an update on the condition of critically wounded CBS reporter Kimberly Dozier. Then the latest on that massive humanitarian response that's now under way in Indonesia. We'll tell you what the rescuers need the most. We'll have a report from Yogyakarta just ahead.

Those stories and more as AMERICAN MORNING continues right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com